A Poppy Transplanted
by LH Wordsmith
Summary: Poppy Hopkirk never thought she'd leave her beloved Ilvermorny, or her house Thunderbird. But when her parents die in a mysterious fire, she's packed up and shipped off to live with Aunt Minnie in England. Only, her aunt is a teacher, and enrolls Poppy in school... at Hogwarts. A rising Dark Lord, her parents' suspicious demise, and Marauders are sure to make the year... eventful.
1. Chapter 1

Minerva McGonagall stood at the top of the steps of Hogwarts, her lined face betraying no emotion. The courtyard was filled with returning and new students, all greeting each other and laughing as they filed into the castle for the new school year. Four boys in particular stood out to her and began making their way toward her, girls staring as they went past. Two of the boys swaggered, drinking in the attention. The third rolled his eyes as he followed and the fourth kept close to the heels of the first two, imitating them.

"Hey, McGonagall," the first boy greeted her. "Miss us?"

"C'mon, you know your summer was boring without us," the second added.

"James Potter and Sirius Black, if you think that boring has a negative connotation, you have another think coming. Go on in. You know how this works. Oh, but Mr. Lupin…" McGonagall said sharply to the troublemakers, but her face softened a fraction as she addressed one of them. The named boy hung back from the other three as they went into the castle.

"Yes, Professor?" Remus Lupin asked.

"I have a favor to ask of you," McGonagall stated, her eyes sweeping over the courtyard once more. "There is a girl who will be joining us this year, and she's a bit of a special case. She'll be in your year, but she's never been to Hogwarts."

"Never been to -" Remus started, but McGonagall held up a hand.

"Yes, and I want you to be extra nice to her. You're the kindest of that lot, and I want to make sure she'll be taken care of. She's had a lot to deal with, not unlike you. Not in that way," McGonagall added hastily, seeing the hopeful look on Remus' face. "She doesn't have any problems like that. But she's… different, and had to deal with bias against it. Like you have. Oh, bother, I'm botching this. In short, Mr. Lupin, will you help her get acclimated? I'm sure Miss Evans would help her too, but I wanted to ask you especially. Would you be willing to help her?"

"Of course, Professor. You know I'm happy to help," Remus replied, opening his mouth to ask who 'she' was but McGonagall shooed him away.

"Wonderful, thank you, Mr. Lupin. That will be all. Go inside now. I have to meet the first years." With that, McGonagall glided away and Remus was left wondering who this mysterious girl was that occupied so much of McGonagall's attention. Shrugging, he joined his friends in the Great Hall.

"What was that on about?" James leaned over Peter to talk to Remus, across from Remus and Sirius. The first years were beginning to be called out and sorted.

"Whoa, lads, check _her_ out," Sirius whistled lowly, distracted, before Remus had a chance to say anything. The others followed his attention to the teacher's table. Where McGonagall usually sat by Dumbledore was an extra seat with a girl sitting in it. Her long wavy golden brown hair was braided over her shoulder and her bright blue eyes soaked in the Great Hall. Freckles dusted her face, and combined with her smile with one dimple added to her charm.

"Who is she? Why's she sitting there?" James inquired.

"Couldn't tell you, mate," Peter replied. Remus couldn't help wondering about the favor McGonagall had asked of him… surely not…

Remus waited until most of the first years had been sorted before finally speaking.

"In answer to your question, Prongs, McGonagall asked me to do a favor," he said, shrugging again.

"A favor?" Sirius repeated, turning to face him. "To do what?"

"McGonagall wants me to look after someone for her," Remus replied as Dumbledore stood. The old wizard held his hands up for silence.

"Once more, we return to our studies. Welcome to the new faces and the old ones. Before we begin this delicious meal, however, I have several announcements. The Forbidden Forest, as ever, remains off-limits for students who do not wish to experience laceration, decapitation, or incineration. Sixth and seventh years will have no need of reminders about their tests, I am sure, and this brings us to my last announcement. I introduce to you a very special girl, Poppy Hopkirk. Miss Hopkirk is Professor McGonagall's niece from America and is a sixth year. She will finish the remainder of her schooling with us here at Hogwarts. In America, Miss Hopkirk is nearest to a Gryffindor, so, Miss Hopkirk, why don't you go join your housemates?" The girl stood from behind the table and walked down the dais to the Gryffindor table, red tinging her ears. "And now, let's eat!" As Dumbledore clapped, food appeared, and the silence was broken by hungry students eating and talking amongst themselves.

Poppy looked around for a place to sit at the Gryffindor table. She was grateful that not every eye was on her anymore, but that didn't mean she wasn't cause for staring. Nonetheless, she held her head high. She may be in a new place, but that wouldn't cow her. No sir. Not far from her, a boy with mouse-brown hair caught her eye and motioned her over. Glancing around, she made her way to him.

"Want a seat?" he offered, sliding down the bench. Poppy smiled at him and stepped into the seat between him and another boy with black hair. Across from her were two more boys, with sandy hair and dark, mussed hair respectively.  
"I'm Remus Lupin. That's James Potter" - the mussed boy - "Peter Pelligrew" - the sandy boy - "And Sirius Black" - the black haired boy to her right. "Welcome to Gryffindor."

"Thank you, Remus. I'm Poppy, but there, Professor Dumbledore already introduced me, didn't he. Gosh, this looks wonderful," Poppy answered, smiling at each boy in turn and then down at the bounty before her. She began filling a plate as the other boys did so too. "Would you pass the fries?" Poppy asked Sirius, and Sirius stopped eating long enough to stare at her.

"The what?"

"Those. The fries." Poppy pointed at the slivers of fried potatoes.

"Oh, you mean the chips?" Sirius began to laugh as he passed them to her.

"Oh darn, I knew I'd have a lot to get used to," Poppy joined in his laughter, accepting the platter.

"So, Poppy, you're from America," James spoke up after they'd been eating a while, too hungry to talk. Poppy swallowed.

"That's right. I can't believe I'm actually here, in Hogwarts. I've heard so many stories. I mean, I absolutely love Ilvermorny, but this is just the most amazing place ever. The history!"

"I'm sorry, Ilver-what, now?" Remus asked, confused.

"Ilvermorny. Do you not know it?" Poppy looked disappointed, but shrugged it off. "No matter. I suppose it's not spoken much of. Ilvermorny is the American wizarding school."

"_American wizarding school?_" All four boys chorused. Poppy gazed at their dumbstruck faces and began to laugh.

"What, you think you're the only special children in the world who need to learn magic? That the only wizarding families are in Europe and the UK? I am proud to admit that I am a student at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of house Thunderbird."

The four boys stared at her. She was very proud of her heritage, and it showed on her face. The way her blue eyes sparkled and the way her smile lit up her face made all four boys' jaws drop. Poppy didn't notice but continued dining like nothing had happened, smiling a secret smile to herself as she thought of her beloved Ilvermorny.

After the feast, Poppy followed the boys to the Gryffindor common room. At the door, however, McGonagall was waiting. To the boys' immense surprise, she launched herself at the woman, hugging her tightly. McGonagall actually smiled as she stroked the girl's hair.

"Good night, Poppy. Sleep well, and I'll see you tomorrow." Poppy broke away and pecked the older woman's cheek.

"Good night, Aunt Minnie." Pulling away with a smile and a wave, Poppy rejoined the boys as they headed upstairs, their jaws hanging once more.

"_Aunt Minnie_?"

* * *

**AN: Hello, my lovelies! Thank you so much for taking time to read this! It's been rolling around in my head for a while now, and I dearly hope you like it. I haven't seen much literature on Ilvermorny, and thought, why not do a bit of my own take? Please let me know any thoughts or questions you have in reviews! I look forward to hearing from you!**

**For more Ilvermorny history, check out writing-by-jk-rowling/ilvermorny. Ciao for now!**


	2. Chapter 2

"And _this_," Potter declared, with a dramatic sweep of his arm, "Is the Fat Lady." The portrait winked at him before settling her eyes on Poppy.

"Hello, dear! And who might you be?"

"Poppy Hopkirk, ma'am," Poppy introduced herself politely.

"American?" The Fat Lady gasped, but covered her mouth quickly. "My apologies, dearie, I meant no disrespect."

"That's alright, ma'am. I know I'm very unusual. My aunt Minnie said I'd catch people by surprise, and of course she's right."

"Your Aunt _Minnie_," Black affirmed with a grin at the name, "Is always right."

"Yeah, her aunt is McGonagall," Pettigrew informed the Fat Lady.

"On my father's side," Poppy confirmed, as the Fat Lady looked to her in interest.

"C'mon, enough jabbering, Poppy'll want to get settled," Lupin broke in. "Homunculus," he told the Fat Lady. The portrait swung forward with a final wink at Poppy.

"How interesting!" Poppy moved to examine the portrait but Black tugged her forward.

"We've got ever so much to show you, and the Common Room is one of the best bits," the boy said. Poppy gave him a smile that made Peter and Remus widen their eyes but Potter was focused on another girl.

"Wotcher, Evans," he told her as she came toward the fivesome. Evans rolled her eyes but only spoke to Poppy.

"Hello, Poppy. I'm Lily Evans. McGonagall put you in my dormitory. It'll be a mite crowded, with my three other roommates, but we're so excited to have you. The girls are in the dorm now, but I came to get you. I'm sorry you've been stuck with this lot," the redheaded girl said, shooting Black a glare that he merely smiled sweetly at. Poppy gave a half smile.

"They're not all bad," she replied. "I've got five brothers, myself. Boys are the same no matter what nationality," she laughed. The four boys exchanged looks.

"Five brothers?" Peter exclaimed. "However do you manage it?"

"Do you have any sisters?" Lily asked sympathetically.

"No, I don't. All my brothers are older than me by far. That's why only I had to come to live with Aunt Minnie. They're off to all corners of the world working. Zeke lives in Canada, teaching at a No-maj college in Quebec. His wife is also a professor, and they have two of the cutest little girls ever. Then there's Luke and Johnny and Jake, the triplets. The three of them are in Egypt now, I think. They study dragons. At least Johnny and Jake do. Luke just went along to look after them, since they're useless without him, as he says. Lizzy is Jake's girlfriend, and Johnny just broke up with Cleo. Last is Tommy, and he teaches at Ilvermorny. Dang, look at that fire!" Poppy moved toward the object of her attention with great wonder, but Black noted a hint of trepidation in her eyes. "I've never seen such a big fireplace!"

"Doesn't it get cold in America?" Peter asked as the five students followed her.

"Oh, sure. But I lived down South when I wasn't at school, and it sure as anything doesn't get as cold as here. It was freezing in the Hall and my robes are still unwieldy. I wish I had thicker socks," Poppy remarked, gazing at the fire. "Mind if I change the color?"

"Color? Of what?" Remus asked, as Black instantly gave her permission. With a grin, Poppy pulled her wand out and flicked it toward the fire. The flames with a flare glowed purple and gray.

"Neat trick," Potter commented, a sparkle growing in his eyes. "What else can you do that for?"

"Er, I can change my hair color, ish."

"Ish?"

"It streaks more than wholly dyes, but it works."

"Is that all?" Black scoffed, an idea forming in his head. "I'm sure that's the best _you_ can do."

"Black, don't even get started," Lily warned, but Poppy's jaw dropped. Black had seemed mischievous, but what was this new change?

"Is that a challenge?" she asked cautiously.

"No, it's not, isn't it, _Sirius_?" Remus interrupted.

"Yeah, it is, _Hopkirk_." Black winked at her, crossing his arms.

"Black. Let it go." Lily's tone held more than a warning this time, but Poppy noted a gleam in Black's eye and decided to call his bluff.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" As Remus, Peter and Lily gasped, Potter whistled, and Black looked even more interested, Poppy continued unfazed. "Bet you couldn't do _half_ the spells I can."

"You're on, Yankee."

"I'll have you know I was born in Tennessee. I am a Southern Belle, thank you very much."

"Fine, Miss Southern Belle, let's duel. Saturday night, the woods."

"Shake on it, like a man." Poppy spit into her palm and held it out to him. Black didn't hesitate and repeated the action. They shook as Lily rolled her eyes. The other boys looked various degrees of interested and concerned, Remus obviously lacking the same enthusiasm Potter showed.

"Great. Just perfect. But if your Aunt Minnie catches you, I'm not defending either of you," Lily replied. "I think it's a horrid idea, but you've committed to it, Poppy. Now let's go to bed." The girls turned to go up the girls' dormitory stairs and the boys moved toward their staircase.

"Oh, but, Poppy," Lily called out loud enough for the boys to hear as they began to climb up, "I do hope you absolutely _destroy_ Black."

* * *

Poppy's schedule included Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes and Advanced Arithmancy, among others. Most of her classes she shared with Lily, but Arithmancy she had with students she did not know. As she loitered near the door, uncertain of where she ought to sit, a slender, handsome boy caught her eye. He waved Poppy over, although Poppy's red and gold scarf clashed against the boy's green and black one.

"You're Poppy, aren't you?" the boy asked, kindly.

"I am. You seem to have the upper hand, though," Poppy laughed. The boy smiled.

"My name's Regulus. Regulus Black."

"Black? As in Sirius Black?" Poppy asked, trying to understand, but Regulus's eyes darkened.

"Yes," he replied in a clipped tone. "He's my brother. But we don't get on very well. You might be surprised to know that Sirius has turned his back on his family."

"Oh, no!" Poppy answered. She furrowed her brow - this didn't seem in keeping with the mischief-loving boy she'd met and challenged earlier. But every family had their secrets and black sheep - she should know. "Well, family is family. But are you older or younger?"

"Younger, by a year. But I'm advanced in Arithmancy."

"Well, your brother is rather old for his year and I'm young for mine, so years matter little to me. As for class, I've always enjoyed Arithmancy, but it may be very different here. We shall see."

"I'm sure you'll be perfect at it." Regulus's eyes glittered. Poppy gave him a half smile, but didn't respond as the professor came in and class began.

* * *

**AN: Hello my lovelies! Please review and let me know your thoughts! I'm very curious to know what you think of this!**


	3. Chapter 3

That night in the Gryffindor common room, Poppy completed her homework stretched out on the floor, parchment strewn about her. Her handwriting was fast, but neat. Humming softly to herself, Poppy finished an essay for Transfiguration and had begun her Arithmancy when someone suddenly knelt on her parchment. She looked up into Black's face, and started at its nearness. He smirked.

"Proud of yourself, are you?" she snipped good-naturedly. She swung her legs under her so that she was sitting criss-cross.

"I am, actually." Black sat as well, moving her papers aside. "What's this? Arithmancy?"

"It is. One of my favorites, actually. Oh, and your brother is taking it with me." Poppy watched Black closely. His face immediately darkened.

"Don't talk about my brother to me."

"Why?" Black then called his family an obscene name that made Poppy laugh. "And what makes you say that?"

"For starters, all they care about is blood. How pure a wizard's blood is. If you're Muggle-born, you're right out. If you even sympathize with Muggles, you're out. It's insane. It's disgusting. They don't even try to hide their disgust."

"Muggles?" Poppy asked. "I've heard the term, but what does it mean?"

"A Muggle is someone with no magical ability."

"Oh, a no-maj."

"A what now?"

"No-maj. As in, no magic. That's what we call them. As for the whole pure-blood thing, we do have something like that in America. As far as I know, however, it's nothing as bad as you're describing."

"What's it like?" Black asked, leaning forward. Poppy drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, gazing deep into the dying embers.

"Americans have their prejudices like anyone else. Pure-blood or not, we magical people stick together. Rappaport's law was a huge deal. Way back when, no-majs became really afraid of what we witches and wizards can do. They used to hunt us. Rappaport made a law separating our worlds as much as possible, since no-majs couldn't handle the knowledge of us. So more than anything, most magical people see no-majs as threats. People are afraid of things they don't know or can't control. It also doesn't help that we tend to treat no-majs like they're children, or idiots. People too dumb to take care of themselves, oblivious and uncaring. Which is true to an extent, but it's not their fault they can't see the magic around them."

"That still doesn't answer my question. What about pure-bloods versus Muggle-born?" Black persisted. Poppy waited a long while before answering.

"I hate to say anything, because technically I suppose I'm the most pure-blooded American witch. I'm a descendant of Isolt Sayre, and she was from the line of Salazar Slytherin, but even so, there is some no-maj blood in our line. She left her family however, because she didn't hold with their beliefs about no-majs. There's not a whole lot of blood-purity conflict, because again, Rappaport's law segregated magic from no-maj. So for the longest time, there wasn't any mixing blood at all. At any rate, _if_ there happens to be conflict between pure-blooded and not at all, my family tends to be the mediators, because we don't lean one way or the other. We just want to learn more magic and how it fits in the world around us."

"Do you have a large family then?"

"Outside of my brothers, yes, well, that is, I used to. My uncle used to be principal of Ilvermorny, but he died when I was young. Then my mother took over, while my father would travel, catching up with different witches and wizards, gathering reports, and that sort of thing. But that changed last spring."

"What happened then?" Black moved closer, watching her face intently. Poppy dropped her gaze to the floor, sighing. It would've come out sooner or later.

"My parents died. There was this terrible, terrible fire. It's how I got this." Poppy extended her left hand, palm up, to reveal a long, jagged scar that curved along her thumb and the center of her palm to her wrist. The raised skin was still tinged red and Poppy rubbed it absently with the fingers of her left hand, curling her hand into a protective fist. "That's also part of the reason why I changed the color of the fire. A bright yellow and orange fire is just…"

"Too sensitive," Black supplied. Poppy glanced up at him, and he noticed that in the firelight, her ice blue eyes glittered dangerously bright. But then Poppy shook herself and laughed.

"Now you can spread the word. People are curious about me, I know, so better tell the story now than to have any number of ridiculous rumors spread." Poppy quickly gathered her papers to herself, stacking them neatly, and was standing to go before Black roused himself from his thoughts. As she started up the girls' dormitory stairs, Black called softly after her.

"Yes?" Poppy turned with a smile. He strode over to her, and stood a step below her on the floor.

"Thank you for sharing. That was really brave, especially considering that I'm practically a stranger to you."

"Oh, please. You'll make me a hero, which I'm not. You asked questions, and I chose to answer, that's all."

"It's still an important choice," he insisted, seizing her scarred hand. "Not everyone is proud or brave enough to speak about their families, myself included."

"Why, Mr. Black," Poppy said, allowing her Southern lilt to creep into her voice. She squeezed his hand. "You ought to be careful. Your true colors are showing. You're a true gentleman. But goodnight now, dearie. A lady's got to have her beauty sleep." Poppy flashed him a grin and fled upstairs. Upon entering her room, Poppy found a certain redhead waiting for her on her bed. The other two girls slumbered on, though Poppy hadn't opened the door quietly. While Poppy neatly replaced her schoolwork in her messenger bag and slipped into pajamas, Lily cast a Silencing charm on the bed's curtains. The two girls crammed onto the bed and closed the curtains to talk.

"I don't want to keep you awake for very long, but I had to tell you. I'm sorry, but I overheard your conversation with Black. I was sitting on the couch nearest you, and heard most of what you said, but I left right after you told him about the fire. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about your parents, and I'm sorry for eavesdropping."

"Aw, Lily, that's very kind of you. Of course I don't mind you overhearing. I guess you missed the part where I told him I didn't care who he told."

"What?" Lily edged closer. "You practically told him to gossip!"

"It's not like I have anything to hide. And as I told him, I'd rather the truth get out than some convoluted rumor that wouldn't end well."

"You trust him to keep the story straight?" Lily asked after a moment. Poppy cocked her head.

"I do. I trust him. Why?"

"It's just… I don't want you to get hurt, alright? Black in particular is a womanizer, and him and Potter are trouble. You'll probably not go wrong with Lupin as a friend, and Pettigrew just wants to be cool like Potter. But keep a sharp eye on Potter and Black. They don't exactly have the best track record. Just say you'll be careful, please?" Lily replied quietly. Poppy hugged her on impulse.

"Of course I will. You're a dear to look out for me."

"You've got a friend here, alright? If you need anything, please don't hesitate to say." Lily stood, removing the charm and opening the curtains.

"Thanks, Lily. Good night!"

"Sleep well, Poppy."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello my lovelies! Sorry for the inconsistent update. But have a nice long chapter and a rather interesting one, if I may say so myself. But a big thank you to the8horcrux who reviewed! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Professor," Regulus asked during class the next day, "Arithmancy, more or less, is predicting the future with numbers, right?" Septima Vector nodded. "Does that mean we can predict the movements of the Dark Lord?" At this, the entire class immediately silenced, Poppy looked around - pale faces, whitened knuckles, and dilated eyes met her. Poppy's brow furrowed. What kind of a name was Dark Lord that it should invoke such fear?

"Who's the Dark Lord?" she asked in the deadly stillness. All eyes shifted to her, wide and terrified.

"You mean you don't know?" a Hufflepuff boy, Trevor, asked eventually. "Not even Americans know about him?"

"About who? If you told me his name, I might recognize it," Poppy replied. "But I never heard a whole lot of news about the rest of the world to begin with, as my parents and my teachers wouldn't talk about it. If it didn't immediately affect us and it wasn't vital to America, then we really didn't pay much attention to it."

"You mean you've never heard of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" A Ravenclaw girl named Lizzie whispered.

"Of course he mustn't be named," Poppy muttered under her breath and Regulus snorted next to her.

"His name is-" he began, but Professor Vector cut him off.

"Don't you dare say it, Mr. Black. I'll have 50 points from your house before you could say house-elf. Names have power, Poppy. I would highly encourage you to talk to your aunt for the answers to your questions. Now, back to numerology. Mr. Black, your original question remains. In theory, we could potentially, but in practice, it is much more difficult. Now class, let's test this out on a much less dangerous subject. Using Mrs. Norris, your homework is to see if you can predict her movements tonight. Write an essay detailing at least three specific, singular movements (like cleaning herself, going to the Turris Magnus, and so on) and how they were accurate or inaccurate, and analyzing the practice. Dismissed." The class poured from the room, the Dark Lord forgotten, as they chattered about how likely Mrs. Norris would be to making a mess in the Great Hall (as she was just a kitten). Poppy mulled over the class' reaction to Regulus' question as the instigator swung into step beside her.

"What are you thinking about, Poppy?" Regulus asked.

"'Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings,'" Poppy replied laughing. Regulus merely stared at her. "What, haven't you read Lewis Carroll? _Alice in Wonderland_? I mean, I was quoting one of his poems, but-"

"You didn't answer my question. What do you think about all this?"

"Not knowing what 'all this' refers to, I really can't say."

"Well, then, how do you feel about blood status?" At his question, Poppy jerked from her thoughts to glance sharply at him. He watched her like a hawk, but Poppy had years of experience making her face a blank, unfathomable slate. Something held her back though, from speaking as openly to Regulus as to Sirius. Regulus was more calculating than Sirius, less impulsive, but no less deeply feeling. She'd have to guard her words more around him, because he'd be able to read more than what was said. For the moment, however, she decided to play it safe.

"I'd rather not say," she said, glancing significantly at the mass of students carrying them to the Great Hall for lunch. "We can talk later though, especially once I've talked to Aunt Minnie."

"I'll hold you to that. Meet me tomorrow?"

"Sure. Where and when?"

"Meet me after lunch in the owlery."

"Why?" A new voice broke in. Poppy looked up into Sirius' face.

"Because we're having a conversation," Regulus replied with a glare. "Sod off."

"Boys, please. Don't fight," Poppy interjected.

"She can't meet you tomorrow, alright? She's already got _plans_," Sirius answered his brother, slinging an arm around Poppy protectively. Poppy frowned at him, opening her mouth to disagree, when she remembered.

"Oh, right. I forgot. I'm sorry, Regulus, but I do have plans tomorrow. It's Saturday, and Sirius and I are-"

"Going to have fun. You're not invited. Now go join your classmates like the good little snake that you are," Sirius interrupted, Poppy's jaw dropped. Sirius paid neither of them any mind but steered Poppy away from Regulus toward the Gryffindor table. As soon as they were out of Regulus's sight, Poppy jerked away from Sirius, who reached for her but stopped himself.

"What the _hell_ was that?" she hissed at him.

"Poppy, please, just trust me. Let me explain. I've got something to tell you…"

"Maybe I don't want to hear it! How could you treat your brother like that?"

"Poppy, I told you, my family hates me. But that's-"

"Ridiculous! Regardless, that's no excuse to be rude and bully people! Maybe I was wrong about you." Poppy spun on her heel and strode out of the Hall, going anywhere but there. There were too many people, too many intricacies, too many webs for her to untangle. Ugh, why was her life _always_ so complicated?

"Wrong about me?" Sirius repeated, catching up to her and matching her stride for stride. "Do you honestly mean to compare me to _him_? What are you on about?"

"I don't know! And that's the thing, Sirius. I'm in a strange place, with strange people and there are so many dramas wrapped in and around one another. Do you know anything of this Dark Lord?" Poppy paused a moment to catch her breath and to see his face before continuing. "Well, spectacular for you. I don't. Never heard of him, and apparently he's this evil person that no one will tell me anything about and you and your brother are mysterious and cagey and antagonizing to each other so I can't get a straight answer out of either of you! I knew coming here would be hard for me, but Sirius! All I want is to just settle in. I want friends. I want to be friends with you and your crew but I also want to be friends with Regulus. You can't stop me, but the least you can do is respect that! If you respect me and my friendship, then give me the dignity of being cordial to your brother when I'm around him!"

"You're right. I shouldn't bother you with my problems," Sirius replied quietly, keeping pace easily. Poppy sighed and strode as fast as her thoughts, as she struggled to figure out what she wanted to say.

"Sirius, if you need help figuring something out, I want you to feel like you can come to me with anything, because you can. But just because you don't like someone doesn't mean you can hate him."

"Clearly you know nothing of the Dark Lord."

"Sirius!" Poppy jerked to a stop and forced Sirius to look at her, frustrated. "You can't even keep a straight conversation! Regulus can't be all bad, and you're being a bully to him, Dark Lord or no Dark Lord. I'm not asking you to kiss and make up, but please be courteous. As for this Dark Lord, I won't learn if you keep dodging the questions. Will you tell me what's going on?" Sirius hesitated. As she finally paused, Poppy noticed that they were outside in the bright, crisp September day. She'd not even thought about going anywhere but out, so her feet must've led her here. Autumn leaves blew in the strong wind, whipping around her robes as her hair nipped her cheeks. Sirius opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to step closer, but didn't.

"You probably should ask your aunt," he said finally. "I really don't know what I'm allowed to say." Poppy gazed at him. Of all people at Hogwarts, he was a confounding puzzle. Lily had told her that Sirius was a horrible, unrepenting flirt, but her interactions with him had shown him to be fun but serious (no pun intended) deep down, but then he went and bullied his brother! Poppy didn't know what to think.

"You're the biggest mystery here at Hogwarts," she whispered. Sirius looked like he wanted to laugh or sigh; she couldn't tell. Just then, a gust of particularly strong wind caught her off balance and shoved her forward into Sirius' chest. He caught her easily and for a moment, held her to him. Poppy was too surprised to push away, and she would've lied if she said she didn't enjoy it. But Sirius released her quickly.

"Thanks," she murmured, and self consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," Sirius replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So… Ilvermorny. Do you have Quidditch there?" Poppy eagerly seized the change in topic, and regaled him with the sports of Ilvermorny as they headed back inside for lunch. As the two rejoined the others and partook of the food, Poppy felt Regulus's glittering eyes following her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that more people than just the two Black boys were studying her, measuring her.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Oh my, the reviews! Ginny Potter, Watermist of Windclan, I thank you for the time you took to read this! As you can see, it inspired me to write faster! I do hope you'll all enjoy this next chapter, as we prepare for the duel... read on my lovelies!**

* * *

Poppy was once again sprawled on the floor in a corner of the Common Room when Remus and James plopped beside her.

"Mind if we join you?" James asked, shooting her a crooked smile. Poppy couldn't help but smile back.

"Sure, but there is a rule. If you're going to be here, you're going to work, and only talk about schoolwork."

"Fine," James grumbled but Remus grinned at her.

"Merlin bless you for that." Poppy laughed at the boy's heartfelt reply. The three fell silent, scribbling on parchment and flipping through books.

"Poppy, what're the signs of an Inferius?" James broke the stillness some time later.

"Cloudy white eyes are the biggest thing, although how you wouldn't think a skeletal, pale walking corpse is a sign, I don't know," a new voice offered.

"Lily!" Poppy greeted with a smile as the girl perched on the arm of the couch beside them.

"Thanks, Evans." James looked at the redhead with shining eyes. Poppy saw Lily's ears tinge pink before she sniffed and replied.

"Everyone knows that. But I didn't come to fill in Potter's seriously lacking knowledge. Poppy, Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office." As James and Lily began bickering over intelligence, Poppy gathered her papers and packed up her messenger bag.

"Here, I'll take it to the room. Good night, Lupin." Lily held out her hand for Poppy's bag and left without so much as a glance at James.

"She pines for me. You can see it in her eyes," James told Remus, gazing wistfully after the girl. Remus laughed.

"Sure, if by 'pines' you mean throws pinecones at you," he replied and Poppy laughed as she left the Common Room in search of her aunt.

"Ah, Poppy, come in. How are you, dear?" Professor McGonagall greeted the girl. Poppy quickly crossed over to her and hugged her. "I want to hear about how everything is going. Tea?" McGonagall led Poppy through an inner door to a room of similar size to the office where a blazing fire roared. Poppy's eyes snapped to it immediately, and she could feel the heat from across the room dance across her skin, across her eyes, smoking them, burning…

"Change the color to whatever you prefer, dear. And have a seat wherever you like." Poppy blinked. The fire wasn't alive. The fire was contained. Chanting that subconsciously, Poppy slid her wand into her hand and flicked it at the fire. The fire turned turquoise, streaked with silver. She moved to two armchairs near the hearth and sank into one with a luxurious sigh.

"Lovely choice, dear. Cream and sugar?"

"Just cream, thank you."

"Here you are, dear. Now tell me. What's your favorite class?" With a wave of her wand, McGonagall brought a table with a gleaming tea service to the armchairs. Poppy launched into a description of her classes, listing Arithmancy as her favorite.

"It's what I'm best at, too, although I've also always been good at Charms. I just like numbers. Numbers don't lie."

"True," McGonagall offered, and the two sat in companionable silence, sipping their tea.

"Aunt Minnie…" Poppy began, setting down her empty cup. McGonagall shifted her attention from the colorful fire to her niece. "There's a boy in my Arithmancy class, named Regulus Black." McGonagall's brows drew together, but she nodded for Poppy to continue. "He asked about someone called the Dark Lord today in class." McGonagall's face tightened, her lips pursed. "And when I asked about who that was, Professor Vector told me I should ask you. So… Aunt Minnie, who is the Dark Lord?" There was nothing but the crackling and popping of the fire to be heard for a long time. Finally, McGonagall spoke.

"Names have power, Poppy. We dare not invoke his name, because doing so may have untold consequences. But the Dark Lord was once a student, here at Hogwarts. He was popular, polite, and brilliant. Too brilliant. His power grew and we - we couldn't do anything. Now he is all grown up, and very powerful. His power is second only to Dumbledore. We are at war, Poppy. You've been very sheltered up until this point. Your parents… your parents knew. But they sought to protect you any way they could. The line of Isolt is a matriarchal one, and you are the only girl in your family. I'm sure you can understand. But I disagreed with your mother, which is why we met so rarely before their deaths. I disagreed with how they were sheltering you. I thought you ought to be told. Because as you are a descendent of Isolt, you are also a descendent of Salazar Slytherin. And with the war, that is dangerous. So very dangerous. That's why I brought you here. Dumbledore, myself, the other professors, we can protect you. Hogwarts is still safe. You can learn and grow and be protected. You've got the potential for greatness, dear. But so did the boy. I won't lie to you. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named finds out about you, he would likely stop at nothing to get to you. But I won't lock you away. Your parents tried that and it's hurting more than it helped. But it's your choice, Poppy." Poppy was silent for a very long time, absorbing, processing. McGonagall poured her another cup of tea that Poppy hardly noticed.

"Aunt Minnie…"

"Yes, dear?"

"Like Zeke always says, plan for the worst but hope for the best. So we've got to plan for the worst," Poppy spoke slowly, thinking out loud. McGonagall waited patiently. "Eventually, somehow, he'll find out. That's the worst case scenario. I can't be hidden forever. Even if you did lock me away. So, to plan for it, I need to be ready. I need to train. Could you teach me? Personally? Help me learn more advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts so that I can protect myself from him? Then I'd also need to know about my enemy. Study him. Who are his followers? And what resistance is there against him?"

"My dear girl, there's nothing I'd love more than to help you prepare for him. I will help train you. But I can do more than that. Let me talk to Professor Dumbledore and I will get back to you."

"Talk to me, Minerva?" a man's voice said from the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've got some work to take care of, Minerva." Professor Dumbledore swept in with McGonagall's wave of invitation.

"Of course. Albus, you know my niece, Poppy Hopkirk."

"Ah, yes, Miss Hopkirk. I understand you're causing quite a stir among the students. The American. How do you like Hogwarts?"

"Oh, very much sir! But if you and my aunt have work to do, I'll leave you. Good night, Aunt Minnie. Thank you for the tea! Can we do this every Friday?" Poppy stood and went to her aunt's embrace.

"Of course, dear. Good night and sleep well. Please close the door of my office behind you." Poppy walked through the door Dumbledore held for her and smiled at him in thanks. She made her way through the cluttered office to the outer door as he closed the inner one, but she couldn't help hearing something about a phoenix. But Poppy dutifully closed the outer door behind her and went straight back to the Gryffindor Common Room, her thoughts definitely elsewhere. So much so that when she climbed through the picture she didn't even notice the room empty save for four boys waiting by the fire. Poppy continued on to her room, her brows furrowed in concentration.

"What d'ya reckon, lads?" James asked the others after she left.

"Her aunt probably filled her in on the war," Remus answered quietly, still gazing after her.

"Do you think she'll be allowed into the Order?" Peter asked.

"I'd say it depends."

"On what, Padfoot?" James asked Sirius, who hadn't moved from staring at the bright pink flames (courtesy of Poppy from that morning).

"On how well she does in our duel tomorrow night, on how her aunt feels about the idea. If she's got the skills, we've got the persuasion. But we can't push her. We chose the Order, lads, it's only fair she gets to choose too. She deserves that much." The four fell silent, thinking.

"That girl is something else," Remus said to no one in particular. "And I hope to Merlin she's the answer to our prayers."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Ginny Potter, an interesting thought! I hadn't planned on it, but it seems to me that the two Black boys have something in common they like… we'll see how Remus fits in! the8horcrux, I think McGonagall is a lot softer when it comes to her family. Of course, I am adding my own little interpretations. But as for the Order, I did a lot of research to see, and there's not exactly a set date of when the 4 boys joined, just that they did by 1978. This story begins in 1977, their sixth year. I am taking a _little_ license with some of these things, but I hope this helps clear up some! Thanks to the both of you for reviewing and letting me know your thoughts! And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…**

* * *

Poppy was on fire. She tore through the house, choking on smoke, gagging on the stench of burning. She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled, but the cinders blew into her face, and blindly, she searched with her hands for her mother on the floor. A sharp, stabbing pain shot through her left palm and Poppy drew it back with a shriek.

"Up here!" a male voice shouted, and a figure appeared through the dense smoke. Poppy recognized the no-maj fireman as one of the men from the station down the road.

"Poppy? You ok? I'm getting you out of here!" He scooped her up easily and cradled her to his chest.

"But my mother, I have to find her!" Poppy struggled, but her limbs felt so, so heavy.

"She'll be ok, you'll be ok, let's go! Poppy, lie still! Poppy! Poppy!" Poppy frowned. The voice that called her name was feminine, not the fireman's…

Poppy awoke with a start into Lily's concerned face.

"Poppy? Poppy! It was just a dream. You're ok, you're safe." Poppy shivered. Now that she wasn't burning, she was beginning to freeze over.

"Poppy?"

"C-c-c-cold," Poppy forced through her chattering teeth. Lily's frown deepened and she laid a hand on Poppy's forehead.

"You're burning up! We need to get you to the infirmary. Here, come on, I'll help you." Lily bundled Poppy up, wrapping the dressing robe over Poppy's nightgown and layering a few blankets on top. Poppy still shivered, so Lily forced two more pairs of socks onto her already stockinged feet.

"Everything will be fine, you'll see. Come on." Poppy's head felt stuffed with cotton and everything was muted through it. Poppy floated with her cotton-stuffed head, and vaguely felt Lily pulling her down stairs. Poppy blearily saw a cheerful orange fire before a figure moved in front of it, blissfully blocking out the harsh and unwelcome brightness. A boy's voice, to which Lily answered, broke through the closing blackness that choked her vision and then Poppy swayed, her knees buckling. Strong arms lifted her and she knew no more.

* * *

Poppy awoke to sunlight streaming in large windows and found herself in a clean white bed that was not hers. A woman bustled around a curtain to her with a silver tray.

"Oh, good morning, dear. Good to see you awake. I'm Madam Pomfrey. How do you feel?"

"Exhausted," Poppy replied, smiling sleepily. "What happened? I remember Lily trying to take me here but I don't remember how."

"Well, it gave me a bit of a fright seeing Sirius Black carry you in with Miss Evans on his heels. Said you had a nightmare and woke feverish. You had a nasty fever and it just broke last night. You've been here two days. My healing magic is powerful, but we've also got to let your body build its immunity to the environment here in the UK since you're not used to it. My work kept your fever down, but it was still very rough going for a bit there."

"Pardon me, Madam Pomfrey, but did you say _two days_?" Poppy asked, aghast.

"Yes, but don't fret over it. Not one teacher will hold it against you. But may I ask about the wound on your hand?"

"My hand?" Poppy glanced down and noticed the bandage wrapping her left hand for the first time. "What happened?"

"It was bleeding when Mr. Black and Miss Evans came. But it looked older, not from two days ago."

"I got it in the fire that took my parents," Poppy replied softly, still examining her hand. Madam Pomfrey nodded and set down her tray at the table. Poppy followed the movement and noted several bouquets of flowers alongside notes cluttering the small table. Madam Pomfrey noted the movement.

"Yes, you had many visitors checking on you. Drink this, and you may look through them. Miss Evans said she'd be back later with a vase for your flowers." Poppy drank from the steaming mug the nurse handed her and shuffled through the notes. Aunt Minnie, Lily and the other roommates, the boys, and a note each from the Black boys. As Poppy drank the potion, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

"Rest, dear. You'll feel much better soon." Poppy stacked the notes slowly, feeling like she moved through syrup, and quickly slipped back into sleep, her last conscious thought reminding her that Sirius had carried her here.

* * *

Poppy had finished her lunch of toast, broth and tea when a head of black hair peeked from behind the curtain.

"Sirius!" Poppy held out her hand and he took it, setting her tray on the bedside table and sitting on the bed.

"You look much better. How do you feel?" Sirius said carefully.

"I'm feeling so much better," Poppy reassured him, smiling. "But Sirius - you're holding my hand like it'll break. I'm not delicate. I was just a bit sick." Instead of dropping her hand like she thought he would, Sirius merely gripped it tighter.

"'Just a bit sick'?" Sirius repeated. "You've been here for two days, Poppy. Your fever was so high! You must've felt bad beforehand. Why didn't you say anything about feeling sick? Why did you let it get so bad?"

"Do you think I _tried_ to get dangerously sick?" Poppy shot back, tears pricking her eyes. "Yes, I didn't feel particularly good Thursday and Friday, but it felt like a cold. I get those every fall and every spring. Allergies. That's part of the reason I snapped at you on Friday. I felt miserable but there's not much to be done for a common cold but to suffer, even with magic. So I kept quiet. No use complaining. But then I had a nightmare and woke up Lily, and she insisted on me coming here and next thing I know, it's two days later! And I find out you carried me here because I passed out. And now I'm trying to thank you but you're attacking me for being sick! Honestly, Sirius, make up your mind!"

"My mind is made up! I want you to be safe! You scared me!" Poppy fell silent and the two stared at each other.

"Why, Sirius? I'm new. I'm American. You hardly know me. I know nothing about your life and I've criticized you. Hell, on my very first night I challenged you to a duel. So why? Why do you care so much?" Poppy asked softly after a long pause.

"Poppy, you awake?" Lily called from nearby. Sirius slipped his hand away from Poppy and stood. Poppy sighed.

"Yeah, Lils. Come over." Lily came around the curtain and stopped when she saw Sirius. Sirius pulled out a single poppy from his robe sleeve.

"Feel better soon, Poppy," he said, handing her the flower and fleeing the infirmary. But at the door he stopped. "Oh, and I'll take a rain check on the duel." Then spinning on his heel, he left, Lily and Poppy watching him open-mouthed.

"What was that about?" Lily asked Poppy. Poppy just shook her head and the other girl shrugged. Lily held up the vase and began putting flowers into it, cleaning the table.

"Oh well. I'm just glad to see you're doing better. Your face has color again. We were so worried."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be! Not your fault. Now, let me cheer you up. The girls will come in a bit. But in Charms…" Lily launched into a story of how a boy named Frank Longbottom had a spell go awry. Poppy was soon laughing heartily. Madam Pomfrey's disapproving face came around the curtain, but was followed by McGonagall.

"Poppy, dear! I came as soon as I heard you were awake. I came by this morning but you had fallen asleep already. How do you feel, dear?"

"Just tired, Aunt Minnie. But I'm better."

"I'm very glad to hear it, dear." McGonagall bent down and kissed Poppy's brow. Madam Pomfrey's frown remained in place.

"Yes, of course, Poppy. Not you, dear. Madam Pomfrey's name is Poppy too. But come, Miss Evans, it's time for us to leave." McGongall fondled Poppy's hair.

"Good night, Poppy. I'll come back tomorrow!" Lily squeezed Poppy's hand. After the two left, Madam Pomfrey gave Poppy another mug to drink from, but the potion was more nauseating than the morning's drink. Still Poppy drank it and made a face after the nurse left.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Poppy awoke feeling fully rested and roaringly hungry. She'd had a pleasant dream, but the details remained vague and uncertain. She sat up with the intention of searching for food when she heard shuffling feet.

"Who's there?" she hissed, feeling for her wand.

"Relax, Hopkirk. It's just us," James' voice came floating to her. Poppy squinted to see them. It wasn't terribly dark, with all the starlight coming in the large windows, but she couldn't see the four anywhere. With the soft whoosh of fabric, the four Marauders came into view.

"It's an invisibility cloak, love. Like it?" Sirius purred, stroking it with a smirk. "But what's this? Was our own sweet little Southern Belle going to sneak out of the infirmary?"

"Say it's not so, Sirius darling!" James pretended to faint onto her bed, and Poppy giggled. Remus rolled his eyes and pulled up chairs with Peter.

"I wouldn't want to, James dear, but I cannot deny my eyes!" Sirius clutched his heart dramatically.

"I was only hungry," Poppy explained, chuckling at their antics.

"Hungry! Not my poor baby!" James shrieked, pressing Poppy's head to his chest in a mother hen crushing embrace.

"What is the world coming to?" Sirius cried, flopping onto the bed. Remus and Peter finished setting up the chairs around the bed.

"Sh! Won't Madam Pomfrey hear you?" Poppy laughed.

"Nah, we cast a Silencing charm," Peter answered, pulling out a basket.

"Food!" Poppy shrieked, and leaned over Sirius' prone form to reach the basket. He shoved her back with a laugh.

"Just take it easy, Poppy. Especially with the food. We don't want a relapse," Remus warned with a smile.

"Sit still, madam, and let us serve you, our queen." James added, as Poppy threw back her head and laughed. The four boys stared. In such reckless abandon, pure joy on her face, she was stunningly beautiful.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hello my lovelies, sorry for late update. Shorter chapter, but I hope to have another out soon for Christmas. Thanks once more to all my dear reviewers! A Christmas present I'd really love to get is more reviews~~ *wink* Merry Christmas, y'all!**

* * *

"How'd you get such accurate predictions? Mine were not very close, even if they were correct locations," Lizzie, the Ravenclaw from Poppy's Arithmancy class asked, as she compared the scrolls. Poppy looked up from the origami she was folding out of a spare piece of parchment. She shrugged.

"I don't know. All I know is arithmancy."

"But I did the exact same thing," Lizzie continued. "How come yours worked? We have the same exact process!"

"Well it's more than just numbers, isn't it? It's magic and intuition."

"Intuition? How so?" Trevor, the Hufflepuff, asked, joining the girls in the library.

"Well, look at the calculation for this first one. I got the reading of Mrs. Norris being in the library or in the dungeons at this time. But I know that Mr. Filch always gives her milk pretty close to this time, so I didn't think her likely to be in the library. Process of elimination, common sense, and analyzing the object studied is just as important as the magic and numbers part of it."

"Too right," a new voice agreed, and the black haired boy it belonged to slung an arm around Poppy as he flopped into the chair next to her.

"Sirius, careful! You'll ruin my crane," Poppy groaned good naturedly, moving her origami piece out of the way. Lizzie and Trevor, sitting across from Poppy, stared at her and Sirius with wide eyes. Poppy noticed how the other girls in the library stopped what they were studying and shot looks and whispered comments between themselves.

"Sirius, do you have a reason for bothering me, or are you just being an idiot as usual?" Poppy asked, continuing to fold the parchment.

"Yes, I think it's time we rescheduled. Been 5 days you know, love."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Saturday again? Same time?" Poppy finished her crane and stood it upon her books proudly.

"It's a date." At the sound of many gasps, and Poppy's questioning look, Sirius winked at her and touched his wand to her crane. He left as the paper bird flew around Poppy's hand. Lizzie leaned forward as soon as he'd left.

"Poppy, are the two of you dating?" Trevor was just as interested in Poppy's answer, as was most of their section of the library.

"Oh no, nothing like that. We're friends, is all."

"Seems more than that," Trevor muttered, and the girls around them seemed inclined to agree. Poppy laughed.

"Come on, y'all, it's not like that. Listen, do you want to know what we rescheduled?" Lizzie and Trevor nodded vigorously. "Promise not to tell a soul?" Poppy leaned forward and whispered in each of her friends' ears about the duel.

"Poppy!" Lizzie gasped but Poppy put a finger on her lips.

"Not a word, Liz." The three packed up to leave for their class. "But I'm going to absolutely _crush_ him." Trevor laughed.

"I hope you do. Take him down a notch or two for the rest of us poor plain sods." Poppy laughed, and promised to do so.

* * *

"Poppy, are you sure about this? What if either of you gets hurt?" Lily hissed as the two crept down the stairs Saturday night.

"If he gets hurt, I'll heal him. If I get hurt, you'll heal me. I'm not concerned. Awfully bold of you to assume he'd be able to land a hit on me, though." Poppy shrugged nonchalantly. They headed out into the night, but were stopped by whispers of "Poppy!"

"Liz? Trevor? What are you doing here?" Poppy hugged Lizzie.

"We want to support you," Trevor said, and Lizzie agreed. "Not to mention, see the great Sirius Black himself in action."

"If his grades are any indication of his skill, it'll be a breeze," Lizzie muttered and Lily couldn't hold back a smirk. "Lizzie Thatcher," she said to Lily. "Nice to officially meet you, Evans."

"Thatcher. And you're Trevor Morris, right?" The two shook hands.

"Come on, I'll never hear the end of it if I'm late." Poppy set out for the Forbidden Forest, where she could see a light within the woods. The four headed right for it, Trevor clutching his scarf and Lily marching stone faced, as Lizzie whispered helpful spells to Poppy. As soon as they reached the light, it went out and the trees rustled.

"Wotcher, Hopkirk." Poppy grinned.

"Why, Mr. Black," she drawled. "My mother told me to never be alone with a gentleman in the dark. A lady has a reputation to protect."

"Come off it, Black. Get this over with," Lily sighed. Poppy threw up a light with her wand to reveal Sirius' grin.

"Brought an audience, eh?" he winked at Poppy.

"A girl can't go anywhere without her entourage," she replied easily. The other Marauders stepped out to join them. Poppy nodded toward them. "A point you prove quite well." Sirius laughed at her as their friends created a large circle around the two. Both drew their wands almost lazily.

"There's no shame in losing, love. Just admit defeat. We won't hold it against you," Sirius called, assuming a duelist pose.

"After you, darling," Poppy replied sweetly, and raised her wand. "Ladies first, you know."

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Sirius shouted, but Poppy deflected the spell.

"Really, Sirius? So basic. _Confundo!_" Poppy retorted, and Sirius tried to block it, but failed. He looked around in the confusion her spell brought.

"Poppy?" he asked as a reflex, as his brow furrowed. "_Homenum Revelio!_"

"How does he know that one?" Lizzie whispered to Trevor. "I didn't think he did."

"What does it do?" Trevor replied.

"Reveals human presence. Although, with her confusion spell, he might get more confused by the number of people his spell will reveal."

"_Levicorpus!_" Poppy returned, but Sirius deflected it.

"_Stupefy!_" At Sirius' spell, Poppy jerked back and tripped. Sirius quickly followed up with _Rictumsempra_ but Poppy rolled to the side to avoid it.

"_Nebulus!_" she cried, and a thick fog rolled in, blocking their view. Lily gasped, and cast a _lumos_ charm, followed quickly by Remus and the rest. Lily searched for Poppy and Sirius, but the fog was so dense sound was muffled and movement hidden. All they could see were flashes of light from spells. Lily flicked her wand and the fog began to dissipate. The Marauders and Poppy's friends had created a much tighter circle, but only Sirius remained in the middle. He looked about wildly for his quarry.

"Where'd she go?" Peter asked the question everyone was thinking.

"_Petrificus totalus!_" Poppy shouted from behind him. Sirius froze at the full body bind. Poppy marched up to him. "Yield?" she asked, and freed his mouth alone so he could speak.

"I've never heard of half those spells you used," he whispered.

"Do you yield?" Poppy repeated.

"How do you know so many? And the fog. After you conjured the fog you only used nonverbal spells."

"Sirius. Do. You. Yield?" Poppy ignored him. "I want to go to bed."

"Oh, yes, fine, I yield." Poppy released him from the bind.

"Come on girls, Trevor. I've had enough nonsense tonight. We can celebrate my victory in the morning." Poppy strode back to the castle, Lily, Lizzie and Trevor in her wake, all staring at her open-mouthed.

"Was she really that good, Padfoot?" Remus asked him, gazing after the girl.

"Yeah. She used this one, _caecus_, to blind me."

"I've never heard of that!" Peter exclaimed.

"That's what I was saying!" Sirius threw up his hands. "Listen, mates, if Dumbledore or her aunt won't ask her to join the Order, I will. We could use her skill. And if that was only a taste of what she can do…"

"Also considering how easily she can change the fire color without a spell…" Remus continued.

"We may actually stand a chance against You-Know-Who," James finished quietly.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hello once more my lovelies! mia, welcome to the story! I'm glad you enjoy! the8horcrux, I'm so glad you do! I'm very thankful for your regular reviews and helpful insights!**

**For Christmas, have another chapter! Happy holidays to all!**

* * *

"Poppy." Poppy opened one eye to find Regulus Black staring down at her. She closed it again and felt him sit beside where she reclined on the grass by the lake. They simply sat for a while, listening to the birds. The morning after her duel with Sirius found her still sore from the night's events, not that anyone knew she was in pain. But Regulus was far more perceptive than most.

"Have you been avoiding me?" he asked finally. Poppy rolled on her side to face him. He was gazing unseeing over the water. Poppy thought about how to word her answer before speaking.

"I'll be honest, Regulus. I've not been seeking you out. I'd like to know you better, honestly, I would. But-"

"But?" he prompted gently.

"But I'm a little afraid of what happens if I do," she whispered, and he finally tore his gaze to hers. His eyes were piercing but she didn't flinch. "Up to now, I've been relatively free from whatever drama and misery has been going on. Even now that I know about the war among wizards, I still am relatively unaffected by it. I don't know what I'll be risking if I dive in deeper. And I'm afraid of that." Poppy waited as he processed her words.

"That's entirely valid, and I can't blame you for that," he replied quietly. "But you should know that you're going to get caught up in this, one way or another. My brother likes you, and therefore you are no longer safe. You're the niece of Minerva McGonagall, and therefore you are a potent piece of leverage. I'm afraid you never had much of a choice. But if you go in now, go in on your own terms, you can make your own choices. You can stand on your own two feet and dictate your actions, which is more than most of us ever will get. Be who you want to be, fight how you want to fight, do whatever needs to be done, for those who can't. For me."

"Regulus?" Poppy touched his arm as he broke off and went back to staring at the lapping lake. She sat up and scooted closer to him.

"My brother has a tendency to assume things and never think twice about it. He thinks he knows me, that he's made the sacrifices. He has no idea who I am."

"Have you tried talking to him?" Poppy asked gently.

"Have you?" he challenged bitterly. "Do you honestly think he'd even listen? And don't answer if you would if you were he. I have tried, and I have failed, and been humiliated for my trouble. I'm not doing that again."

"I won't push you to, then."

"Thank you. Speaking of pushing people, though, a little birdie told me you and Sirius had a duel." Regulus' eyes glittered, the dull bitterness fading away. Poppy shrugged.

"He challenged me. What can I say?"

"You demolished him," Regulus stated. A note of pride entered his voice as he continued. "You did something no one has in a long time."

"But at a cost," Poppy rejoined quietly. She hadn't even told Lily how she'd lain awake that night, pain wracking her body and flashbacks of her past haunting her mind. But did she really want to share this secret that she'd not even told her father? Only her mother knew what the magic did to her, and Mother was gone…

"Poppy?"

"I-" Poppy broke off and broke away, wrapping her arms around herself, taking a turn to gaze out across the vast lake. Regulus put a hand on her arm.

"I know something about secrets. I won't push you, but whenever you're ready, I'm here." He got up to leave when her soft voice stopped him.

"I'm dying."

A heartbeat. Two.

He sank back to his seat beside her, watching a single tear slip down her cheek.

"What?" he whispered hesitantly, as if any word would break her.

"This power." Poppy looked at her hands calmly. "It drains me. It's too much for me. It'll kill me someday." Regulus slowly turned to face her fully and took her hands in his.

"That's why I got sick. My magic fatigued me so much that I was so susceptible to the common cold. Also why Madam Pomfrey couldn't heal me. My body had to rest. It's sort of like a muscle. I can build up strength to use magic regularly like in school, but if I don't exercise it then I lose that strength quickly. So every school year I have to start over. But if I do use magic, the more I drain myself. The closer my death comes." Poppy met his eyes. There was no fear there, just resignation. Regulus maintained eye contact with her, his face unfathomable. Poppy squeezed his hands in reassurance and he stroked the backs of her hands with his thumbs absentmindedly.

"Then why did you agree to duel him? Doesn't the extra hurt you?"

"Yes, but less and less. Regulus, hon, I'm going to be ok."

"If you keep this up, how long?" was his only response. Poppy finally dropped her gaze.

"How long, Poppy?"

Poppy opened her mouth to speak but couldn't say it, and shut her mouth again. Regulus tilted her chin up with a tender hand.

"How long, love?"

"If I'm careful, four years, give or take. There are always options. I could give up practicing entirely, you know, et cetera."

"And if you fight in this war?" Poppy remained silent.

"It all depends. This is the curse of Isoult's descendants. Some women in our lineage managed to use it sparingly, and live relatively long lives."

"Curse? And wait, how long is 'relatively long'?"

"Oh, yes. With great power comes great responsibility and all that. But an average lifespan is about thirty years. A long life is about fifty."

"Then why," Regulus's eyes grew hard, "Do you only have four years or so?"

"Because of the fire. And Regulus, please, if you feel any sort of affection for me, please don't ask me about that night. I'm not ready to face it yet. And I am also taking into consideration fighting. I could likely get another ten years, but, Regulus," Poppy said, finally matching his piercing gaze with one of her own. "I may not understand fully what this war is about yet, but you can put money on me. I'm going to fight against injustice if it costs me my life." Both had shifted to face each other fully, hands still clasped, eyes penetrating the soul.

"I give you my word, Poppy. I'll fight by your side and for you. You won't be alone in this. You'll always have me."

"Thank you. That means more than I can say."

"But you have to tell Sirius. And your aunt."

"I know, I know. But for right now, let me enjoy them not looking at me like I'm broken. Let them be happy." Regulus squeezed her hands.

"Do you want to be alone now? Big day, serious talk and all."

"That'd be great, thank you. You're very thoughtful." Regulus stood and turned to leave, but Poppy stopped him by catching his wrist.

"I appreciate your discretion. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for not judging me, for not looking at me like I'm already gone, for fighting with me, for everything."

"You trusted me with your secret. It's only fair that I strive every day to be worthy of that trust."

"You likely won't have to try very hard," Poppy whispered as he left, knowing he couldn't hear her. "You're already close to having more than just my trust."

Unbeknownst to either of them, Sirius leaned back against a nearby tree. He'd been hidden from sight, and hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but he'd accidentally stumbled upon the tableau of Regulus and Poppy, gazing deep into each other's eyes. A strange sort of feeling wrapped around him, choking him, til he could hardly breathe and the only thing he could think of was Poppy.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for a shorter chapter, and a rather serious one at that. What a bombshell! And what does this mean for PoppyxSirius? PoppyxRegulus? Anyone? I wish Poppy would just tell me but I'll bet she doesn't know herself yet. Ah, well. We'll have some fun come up soon - after all, she's friends with the Marauders! **

**May your holiday be bright! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: the8horcrux, your review made me laugh! Things are going to start to pick up a bit, so hold on tight, darling! We've got quite the ride ahead of us. Keep reading, my dear, and all your questions will be answered... mia, once again, thank you for your support! I do love hearing from you all, and while the following I've gathered is small, I'm thankful beyond words that you're all faithful! A note to those who do follow: I have updated a few chapters, and sometimes when I update, it's going back through with a fine tooth comb to clean it up. Please do review, as that's how I can write better and better!**

**As I've gotten a few questions about this, just for future reference: McGonagall is Poppy's aunt on her father's side, and so is unaffected by this curse. I went back and mentioned this in chapter 2, just to be safe.**

**Have a happy new year! And without further ado, the story!**

* * *

"Poppy? Did you hear me?" Lizzie repeated. Poppy shook herself. Seated once more in her usual spot under the great tree in the corner of the courtyard, Poppy glanced at the faces of Trevor, Lily, and Lizzie. "I said, are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?"

"We're allowed to go? Even with the war and all that's going on?" Trevor asked. Lily shrugged.

"Haven't heard anything to the contrary. I think they're trying to keep things as normal as possible, although I doubt they'd let us go without security measures in place."

"And here we have our own Queen Poppy, holding court with her ever present companions, the three Musketeers," a new voice narrated, and James' smiling face came into view, the rest of the Marauders trailing behind.

"Musketeers?" Trevor repeated, grinning. "I love it."

"Since we the Marauders have a title, it is only fitting that your lot has one as well," James continued to Poppy.

"Has one as well… Your Majesty," she corrected with a laugh.

"My humblest apologies!" he gasped dramatically in response. "How could I be so forward to her Majesty, the illustrious autumnal queen! I am a jester, a sham, a knave…"

"A recreant knight," Poppy added helpfully.

"A most vile and recreant knight!" James exclaimed, keeling over with a flourish. Trevor, Lizzie, and Peter outright laughed, while Remus grinned and Lily smothered her own chuckle with little success.

"Where's Sirius?" Lizzie asked. "Oughtn't he be here? Present tribute to the queen and all."

"Tribute!" cried James, and immediately pulled a biscuit wrapped in a napkin from his pocket. He presented it with all pomp and circumstance he could manage and nudged Peter and Remus to do the same. Two other biscuits were offered, and all three generously shared by gracious Queen Poppy.

"But to answer the original question, Liz," Poppy replied after the last crumbs had been eaten. "I'm not going to Hogsmeade with anyone specifically. No one's asked me."

"Say it isn't so, darling!" Sirius's entrance was as dramatic as his words. James glanced up from his spot lounging by Lily's feet with a matching grin.

"That's Queen darling to you," James replied with a sniff. "She is Queen Poppy, and this is her court, the three Musketeers."

"Huzzah and well met," Sirius returned. Poppy winked at James before turning to Sirius with an outstretched hand. He took it and knelt before her, as a knight receiving a blessing.

"Have you any tribute to offer your queen?" Poppy's eye twinkled. "Every knight through my realm has offered me such, and returned the just reward of their sacrifice. And so I ask you, can you comply with the law of the land and offer tribute?"

"Tribute?" Sirius glanced at James who laughed with a 'you're on your own' look. Sirius glared at James for a beat before returning his attention to Poppy. "Well, my queen, I alas find myself with nothing to offer you save this: an escort to Hogsmeade, should you accept my suit." Lizzie smothered a gasp and shared a look with Trevor and Lily.

"It would be my honor to accept such a worthy proposition, however, 'twould be remiss of me to exclude my most excellent and amiable Musketeers," Poppy replied, her hands still in his.

"Ah, but not to worry, my lady! I happen to have several knights who would be more than willing to accompany your Musketeers, should they require them." Poppy looked at the Musketeers.

"It would be a privilege and a blessing if you were to accompany me," James said quietly to Lily. Lily looked to Poppy, then down at the ground as she very quietly accepted. James' eyes grew wide, and he looked to Remus and Poppy for confirmation that the ever elusive Miss Evans had indeed agreed to be escorted by him. Poppy next looked to Trevor and Lizzie.

"Lizzie and I will be in attendance together, my dear queen," Trevor replied gallantly, and Lizzie cracked a smile.

"Then, my brave knight, I accept."

* * *

The October day was blustery and bone chilling. The students going to Hogsmeade gathered in the courtyard, waiting to go. Poppy was scrambling through her trunk, searching for more warm clothing when she glanced up to see Lily before her. Lily held out a thick, brightly colored scarf.

"My great aunt makes me more scarves than I can wear. Keep it." Poppy accepted it gratefully but watched Lily carefully as she wrapped it around her neck. Lily kept her head down as she retreated back to her bed to sit.

"Lily? You ok?" At the other girl's mute response, Poppy knelt in front of her, forcing her to look her in the eyes. "Lily?"

"I- I don't- I'm not going."

"Not going? Why?"

"James- I mean, Potter-"

"What about him?"

"I shouldn't like him. I don't want to."

"Why?" Poppy asked, taking Lily's hands.

"You didn't grow up with him. Him and Sirius are bullies, and Remus does nothing to stop them, and Peter wants to be just like them."

"I know that."

"What?" Lily gaped, and Poppy took the opportunity to sit beside her.

"Sirius is cruel to his brother. Regulus has been nothing but kind and gentle with me, and what's more, I can count on Regulus to be honest and take me seriously. I've called Sirius out on it, and then I even warned him further when we dueled. I didn't want to chew him out in front of his friends, that's why I called in the fog. I'd seen him bullying Snape, but now that I've met Snape, I really can't blame him, but that's no excuse for his behavior. But now I'm giving Sirius a second chance. That's why I'm allowing him to escort me. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Well, this is Sirius's. Why not give James a second chance?"

"Poppy, he won't stop, though."

"Do you know that for sure?"

"Huh?"  
"Do you know for a fact he won't? How do you know?"

"I-"

"Here's how I know he will stop and that he already is stopping. My brothers Johnny and Jake were so much fun to be around and I loved being with them more than anything, but Luke and I always butted heads. And of course, Johnny and Jake had to take his side, because they were triplets. My mother used to say it was because Luke and I were so alike that we fought constantly. I always felt like the three of them were ganging up on me, and there was nothing I could do about it. But that's because we hadn't grown up, hadn't matured. Once the triplets got older, they were much more patient and kind. Luke is the nicest guy in the whole world, and I know all three of them, more than Tommy and Zeke, would be at my side in an instant if ever I needed them. So give James a chance, Lily. He'll grow up, and you'll see that soon. All he wants is to have a chance to prove himself." Poppy stood and went to get her knitted cap from her bed, letting Lily absorb her words. When she turned back, Lily was standing ready to go, her cheeks flushed pink.

"Then I will," Lily answered, growing bolder. Poppy grinned and linked arms with her friend.

* * *

"What do you think of butterbeer then?" Sirius asked Poppy as he leaned back in his chair. Poppy wiped her lips with her napkin and smiled.

"It's _divine_. I never knew anything like it!" She placed her empty mug by his near the edge of the table. Sirius stood, and Poppy took the hint to begin wrapping herself back up to go outside. Once her hat was in place, he took her hand and escorted her out the door. He offered her his arm and they strolled down the lane as snow began to fall.

"I must admit, Mr. Black, that I am a bit surprised at your gallantry."

"Oh, Miss Hopkirk?"

"Indeed. I did not expect to be escorted out like a lady."

"Nay, madam, like a queen. That's what you are, after all."

"A charmer to the last," Poppy laughed, and Sirius grinned sideways at her.

"But honestly, we take our nicknames very seriously. You lot are the Queen and her Musketeers. And royalty you shall always be, to me." Poppy blushed at his heartfelt words and was grateful for the cold, that had already made her ears and cheeks red. They walked on in companionable silence, Poppy admiring the little town, disgusting though the weather was. Sirius admired his own view, but he wasn't looking at the town. Something about her face fascinated him, how open, how unrestrained, how unaffected it was. She was pure, untarnished by the years of English wizarding prejudice, and it was more refreshing than a glass of water on a hot day to someone like him, who'd been disowned in more ways than one because of it. Poppy leaned back into his shoulder so she could raise her hand and tilt her head to the sky, catching snowflakes.

"I hardly ever see snow, and never so early. I can't wait to see Hogwarts covered in it."

"You may have to give up your throne under the tree."

"Nonsense! A good bench and a thick blanket would do wonders I'm sure. Does Hogwarts have a woodworking shop, so I could make a bench?"

"Er, no, I don't think so. But couldn't you simply conjure one? You've got great skill," Sirius watched her carefully. He'd asked her this question to see if she'd be as honest with him as he'd seen her be with Regulus.

Poppy was silent. Regulus had said she needed to tell Sirius, and he was right, but Poppy looked out into the distance as the pair crested a hill. This moment was blissfully free from pain and burdens. Right now, she could easily imagine simply being a normal girl on a normal vacation with a normal boy. She didn't want to ruin this trip, because it would become a beautiful memory she could savor later, when the pain was back full force…

"Maybe. I've never tried anything like it before, so we'd have to see. But where exactly are we going?"

Sirius tried to hide his disappointment quickly, so he ducked his head and glanced to his left, since Poppy was on his right arm.

"We're going to the Shrieking Shack." As if to punctuate his words, the Shrieking Shack loomed up. Poppy's attention was immediately arrested by it, and she pulled on his arm.

"Why does it shriek?"

"They say it's haunted. It's the most haunted place in all of Britain." Poppy shuddered at Sirius's tone. "Not even the Hogwarts ghosts venture in." Poppy shivered, and sensed movement behind her, but she could see nothing. Then something tackled her, slamming her into Sirius, and the two fell to the icy ground below, Poppy on top of Sirius, who wrapped his arms securely around her. Laughter punctuated their fall, and Poppy glanced up into Trevor's face, red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Poppy, Sirius! It's Lizzie's fault, I swear. Are you alright?" Trevor helped Poppy up and Sirius jumped up on his own. Poppy looked around for the source of the laughter and found Lizzie doubled over not far away.

"Well, missy, you better have one good explanation," Poppy began, a smile curving around her lips, though she planted her hands on her hips.

"Scared… Trevor… he ran… right smack… into you," the girl gasped out, and Poppy couldn't suppress her own giggle.

"How'd she scare you, mate?" Sirius asked Trevor. Trevor frowned at Lizzie.

"We were just walking along, like decent people, when she stops. Told me to look over her head. A clump of mistletoe was in the tree. So like any self respecting man, I turned heel and ran like hell."

"Too right. We'll get her for messing with a decent fellow like yourself." Sirius sniffed indignantly on Trevor's behalf. Poppy joined Lizzie in laughter, and that was how the rest of the Marauders and Lily found them, the only ones outside in the miserable cold, laughing by the Shrieking Shack.

* * *

**AN: So a nice long chapter for you, and there we have our first Hogsmeade trip. Not sure if there will be others worth mentioning… got different plot bunnies running around, but they're too fast for me to catch yet. But something I wanted to tackle with this story was Lily's change of heart towards James. That was never explained well, in my opinion, so I think this is a plausible way to begin that shift. Do review and let me know what you think, though! Reviews do encourage an author to write faster, you know. Ciao for now, my lovelies!**


	10. Chapter 10

The term fairly flew by after that with little to no event marking it. Poppy was caught up in the whirlwind of papers, spells, examinations, and tea with her Aunt Minnie, often joined by Albus Dumbledore himself. She was most often found outside in the courtyard, with the autumn leaves quickly blowing away in the wintery wind changing her court with the season. As the weather grew bitter, the Musketeers attended their queen just outside the Great Hall. Lily, Lizzie and Trevor remained her most constant companions, but the Marauders were never far away. Regulus maintained a distance from her other friends, but he discreetly checked on her regularly. Every time her left her, though, he reminded her to tell someone else about her secret: her aunt, Sirius, Lily, anyone. In her heart, Poppy knew he was right, but the cooling days and peace of Hogwarts created a warm, safe, lazy bubble that she was loath to leave.

"War finds us all, whether we like it or not, Poppy," he'd say, those luminous eyes of his haunting. "We all have to make a choice."

Reflecting on his words and quiet support, Poppy suppressed a shiver and ran right into someone, causing both of them to spill papers and books.

"Oh, goodness me! I ran right smack dab into you. I'm so sorry!" Poppy laughed, gathering the other person's books. She glanced up into Severus Snape's face, framed by his perpetually greasy black hair. He glared at her and grabbed his books.

"'Smack dab'? Makes no sense," he muttered to himself. "Bet she's not even pureblood."

"She technically is, not that that has anything to do with the price of tea in China. But you'd know that if you actually talked to her, instead of muttering," Poppy replied cheerfully, kneeling back down to gather her things. Snape's glare deepened. He moved away, but not before kicking her books away from her fingers. Poppy sighed, but didn't need to bother saying anything, because a voice yelled out.

"Hey!" She and Snape turned to see Regulus striding up. "Poppy, get up from the floor." His tone brooked no argument and she hastened to obey. "Snape, pick up the lady's books. She's not wronged you, and it's frankly rude of you to treat her so."

"If you're so keen on treating her like a lady, you pick up your girlfriend's things," Snape retorted, and Regulus's face, already deadpan, relaxed in a very menacing way.

"And even if she was my girlfriend, is this any way to treat the lady of a Black?" Snape scowled and begrudgingly picked up Poppy's things before darting away without another word.

"Thanks, Reg," Poppy smiled at him. He smiled back, and the two walked to the library in companionable silence. Just before they entered, he snagged her arm and pulled her into a nearby nook that hid them from sight.

"Poppy, I've been thinking…"

"A dangerous pastime, that."

"In order to help you use your magic as little as possible, you should have a reputation, a name, that would cause anyone second thought before trifling with you."

"A good idea, Reg, but what are you implying?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm implying dating. You dating me. Not now, nor ever, should you choose. But my name carries a serious weight to it, and you'd be safe under it. Now, before you say anything, let me be clear: I am trying to help come up with solutions for you. This is the first I thought of. It'd be a good temporary, backup solution." Regulus drew breath to continue arguing but Poppy stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"It's a good idea, Regulus. I think it's the best backup plan. As you say, we shall continue looking for answers, but that's a good fallback. And Regulus? I think it's absolutely _darling_ of you to help think of ways around this curse."

* * *

Poppy was cheerfully hopping from stone to stone, arm-in-arm with Lizzie, when the two were beset by Marauders.

"'Allo love," James greeted the two, slipping an arm through Poppy's and joining the two in their game.

"What's up, James?" Poppy returned. James promptly looked up. Poppy sighed. "You know it's rhetorical, darling. And yet, every time, here we are."

"Well, we could continue this timeless debate-"

"Argument, more like," Lizzie muttered.

"-Or we could talk about the juicy bit of gossip I heard just now."

"You, a gossipy old bag!" Poppy laughed.

"You, a cruel, vicious queen! Do you want to hear it or not?"

"Oh, should we? If we indulge him too much, he'll begin to think things," Poppy told Lizzie.

"Things like he can have his own way with us," Lizzie agreed.

"But if we keep him waiting any longer, he'll likely burst." Poppy glanced at James. The girls giggled and James's red face regained a more normal color. "Alright, James. What is it?"

"Snivellous got _creamed_ by someone. Got humiliated. By Regulus Black, no less." Poppy's heart shot into her mouth. Someone had seen that? Heard their conversation after? She hoped not…

"Either way, Snivellous is sulking and I'm rejoicing, so what shall we do to celebrate, girls? I could rustle up some firewhiskey."

"James, it's a school night," Remus reminded them from down the hall. "And we have an exam for McGonagall before the holiday."

"Oh, right! Christmas break is coming up! I entirely forgot. I think I'll have to stay. I'm not sure what Aunt Minnie does over break."

"That's sad if you're going to be alone. You'll have to come visit us in Godric's Hollow," James replied.

"I'd like that, but again, I'd have to check with Aunt Minnie."

"And she's already coming over to visit me," Lizzie added, squeezing Poppy's arm.

"For a few days," Poppy agreed, to Remus' questioning look.

"But all our mates come over on Christmas," James replied. "Maybe you and your aunt could come? I know my parents would love a chat."

"I'll ask tonight!" Poppy promised. Remus gave her a smile, and Peter continued to follow them as they skipped down the hall, laughing loudly at their own ridiculousness.

* * *

"Happy Christmas, Poppy!" James cried, throwing open the door for her and her aunt.

"Merry Christmas, James!" Poppy laughed, and followed him inside. Minerva smiled fondly at the boy before handing Mrs. Potter their cloaks at her outstretched and welcoming hand.

"Welcome! There's not much room, but what's ours is yours! Make yourselves at home! James, keep away from the pudding!" Mrs. Potter shooed the four boys away from the kitchen and into the living room, where Mr. Potter stood to greet Poppy and her aunt.

"Professor, and Miss Hopkirk! Welcome to our humble abode."

"Poppy, you're here! At last, we can open presents!" Peter cried, clasping her hand. The four boys surrounded her, drawing her to the Christmas tree in the corner. A mound of gifts spilled from beneath it, and Remus gave Poppy a lopsided grin.

"James and Sirius have 'checked for hexes,' so at the very least, they're safe." Poppy laughed at that, but turned to Sirius.

"You've been uncharacteristically silent, dear Mr. Black. Pray, has a cat got your tongue?" Sirius stuck his tongue out at her, but shook his head.

"My mum caught us checking the presents, and she flung a hex after us. I dodged it, but poor old Padfoot here didn't. So he's got to be quiet until dinnertime," James supplied, trying unsuccessfully to smother a grin. Sirius glared at him but gallantly bowed to Poppy and kissed her hand dramatically.

"Ever the charming gentleman," Poppy chuckled. "How unlucky for you, though. I know the counterspell to such things and even if I'd have been caught, I could have escaped." Sirius gestured at her to apply her knowledge to him. "Why, Mr. Black! As if I'd go behind my gracious hostess's back to free you from a swift and just return for your crimes?" Sirius made a rude gesture at her to which she laughed.

"Alright, children, come and eat, and then we'll open presents," Mrs. Potter called affectionately from the kitchen. "Minerva, the place of honor for you and Poppy, of course." The four boys, Poppy and her aunt, and James's parents gathered around the dining table, which sagged at the weight of its bounty. A few of the foods Poppy didn't recognize but thought they smelled divine. As they sat, Poppy noticed the water in her glass emit waves, as if the ground were shaking beneath it. The chandelier swayed above them, and Poppy looked to her aunt in alarm.

"Poppy!" The professor held out a hand to her, and Poppy immediately tried to get to her. Poppy's hip caught on the table corner as she tried to sidestep Mrs. Potter going to James and Mr. Potter, knocking her off balance just as the ground really began to shake. Several things happened all at once. Sirius went to her aid with a cry of "Poppy!" but a dense fog began to creep into the room, dark and menacing. The adults immediately drew their wands, prompting James and Remus to do likewise, Peter tucked behind Remus. Minerva finally reached Poppy's side, pushing the two behind her. And in the middle of the swirling fog, a shadow materialized into flesh and blood.

"A Death Eater," Minerva breathed, shifting even closer to Poppy protectively. Sirius's hold on her arm tightened.

"Leave the fighting to the adults, Poppy," he muttered into her ear. "Don't fight unless you absolutely have to. I won't have you passing out or speeding up your death. Never mind how I know, just do as I say and let me protect you."

The Death Eater lashed out with a nonverbal spell, but Minerva deflected it while Mrs. Potter raised a shield around the children. Minerva and Mr. Potter quickly went on the offensive, forcing the Death Eater further away until they'd cornered him, his dark robe and mask not hiding any of its wearer's frustration. With a crack, the figure apparated away, and panting, Minerva turned to Poppy, who still stood behind Sirius's raised wand.

"You alright, dear?"

"Yes, Aunt."

"I'm terribly sorry for all that," Mr. Potter said, but Minerva waved him off.

"Not your fault at all! Now, then, shall we continue? I'll warrant Mrs. Potter's put up that shield around the house by now, and we can carry on in peace. Delicious looking pudding, by the way." Minerva diffused the tense mood as much as possible, but the boys looked grim and Poppy's mind still raced. _How did he know about my secret?_

* * *

**AN: here's another chapter! What do y'all think about Regulus's nickname? Either way, let me know what you think about everything that went down this chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Ginny Potter, lovely to hear from you, darling! It's been a hot minute since you reviewed, but I'm always glad to hear from you and anyone else who follows this story so faithfully.**

* * *

After the Christmas incident, as Poppy began calling it, her aunt kept her closer. Instead of being allowed to stay alone at the country house, like she had been over the summer, Poppy stayed in London in the flat. London in the winter was interesting for all of a day, before Poppy began to long for her Tennessee winters, with more color than the London fog. Her aunt was often out during the day, leaving layers of protective charms around the flat instead, which after a while, grated on Poppy's nerves. She understood why she wouldn't be allowed to leave the flat, but being inside all day with no one to talk to and nothing to do except change the color of the frost on the window drove her crazy. Poppy rarely saw her aunt, for when she did return home, the poor woman was exhausted and went straight to bed. Poppy had been waiting for an opportunity to sit her aunt down and tell her about the curse, because the Christmas incident proved that attacks could happen at any time. But her aunt never got very far into a conversation before her eyes drooped shut. So Poppy waited, and cried when her aunt decided against the trip to see Lily (because it wasn't safe), and sat down to knit a sweater. She'd been working on it for two days before she realized she had dropped a stitch early on and had to unravel it and start practically from scratch. But it was a way to pass the time, along with her brewing.

* * *

Poppy was sick of knitting, of looking outside and seeing the same sky, of being endlessly alone. So she turned to face her room. Her bed was pushed under the window, the bookcase by the door and the desk next to it. Boxes were stacked at the foot of her bed, mostly her things from America. The rest of the boxes were at the country house. Yet it was something new to do, so Poppy opened the top box. Notebooks greeted her and suddenly, she was home. The pink bindings on top of her textbooks as she waltzed through Ilvermorny. The smell of her father's pipe wafted up to her from the cover. Chasing her brothers around the house to retrieve one of the notebooks back.

Poppy gingerly laid the notebook on her bed, sniffling. She would _not_ cry.

At the bottom of the box was a green notebook. Her mother's color. Poppy couldn't resist, and grabbed a tissue from the box on her nightstand in preparation. Opening the notebook proved her right as she quickly dissolved in tears at her mother's familiar scrawl.

Once the tears cleared, Poppy's headache forced her to go get some water before she returned to actually read the notebooks. The first half was harmless enough, but the second half focused on the curse and other curses. Cures and potions were scribbled through the margins, but it wasn't until the last page that a potion was circled. Her mother had rewritten it to be clearer than any of the other notes. A comment to the side sent Poppy gasping and bolting from the room to the kitchen.

_The only potion that manages the pain and helps with control._

* * *

It took Poppy several tries to get the potion right. She'd worked for two days to make sure she got it right, carefully hiding the evidence from her aunt so that she could present a perfect final product. Now, as she stirred slowly three times counterclockwise, Poppy sighed happily. Her work was complete! As she stood surveying the work, a crack startled her. Poppy spun to find her aunt as her aunt's jaw dropped.

"Poppy, what is the meaning of this?"

"Hi, Aunt Minnie. You're back early!" Poppy ran to embrace her.

"Poppy, why are you brewing a potion? And what manner of potion?" Her aunt sternly strode to the counter and gazed into the cauldron.

"It's for…" Poppy hesitated.

"'Managing pain'?" McGonagall quoted, now looking at the notebook.

"Yes… Aunt Minnie, what do you know about curses?" Her aunt snapped toward her, sharp eyes missing nothing, noting Poppy's nervousness. The tension leached from her shoulders and the older woman went to sit at the bar Poppy was leaning on.

"Isolt's curse. It's real, isn't it?" Now it was Poppy's turn to gape.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't. I didn't even know to think anything of it until your father once mentioned how all the women of that line died very young. Then your mother always seemed so fatigued, or in pain, whenever she taught, but she got such joy from teaching that I dismissed the idea. But, it's true, isn't it? The family legend is real."

"What family legend?"

"That in order to escape Gormlaith's clutches, Isolt made a deal with the devil, that would heighten what she already had but at the cost of her strength."

"What she already had. Her magical ability?"

"Yes, but I daresay you should know more than I. Why do you ask me, then?"

"Because we have a different family legend." Poppy moved to a chair facing her aunt. "Isolt needed to save her family. When Gormlaith tracked her to America, and tried to take her sons hostage, Isolt offered her life in exchange. As a reward for such sacrifice, they say the devil gave his own magic to her, but will always eventually come to claim the life owed him. And so it is for all her daughters." The two sat in silence for a moment. McGonagall absently flicked her wand to put on the kettle for tea. Poppy looked down to her folded hands.

"Poppy, what does this mean for you?"

"It means I'm in pain at the start of every semester. It means I'm very powerful. And it means I'm never safe. I never have been and never will be," Poppy replied quietly. At her aunt's soft gasp, she looked up fiercely. "I am not a victim. I will not be weak. I've never been. I don't want special treatment. I want to be normal. Yes I'll suffer, but that's normal for me. I want to be useful before I die. So, Aunt Minnie, I brewed a potion for the pain. I've taken matters in my own hands. I want to fight this Dark Lord, though he's certainly no lord of mine. I'm a flame on a very short candle, Aunt Minnie. Let my life _mean_ something. Let my light shine brightly before it gutters out. Please. It's the only hope I have."

"Then if I have anything to say about it, you'll be inducted to the Order of the Phoenix without delay." McGonagall stood and went to Poppy, taking her hands. "Thank you for telling me, my dear girl. My dear, brave, strong girl." Poppy buried her face in her aunt's embrace. But the kettle singing quickly broke them apart to laugh and set about cleaning up and getting food.

* * *

Poppy went back to school with one less secret but gaining another in its place. Her place in the Order had been quickly granted, although she was adamant about her curse being known to the members her aunt deemed right. Now she wanted to find out another secret: how the _hell_ did Sirius know about her curse? And more importantly, she had to figure out what she was going to do about it.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Yikes… I don't have much to say to excuse myself except Coronavirus has really jacked everything up… wash your hands, y'all! And please forgive me for my late chapter! Have a long one!**

* * *

"Poppy!" several voices cried at once, and Poppy laughed.

"One at a time, my dears! There's plenty of my love to go around," Poppy answered mildly, grinning at Lizzie and winking at Trevor. Their tree was still snow covered, but someone (Poppy guessed Remus, as he still loitered nearby) had scraped the snow away from their "seats" and the four had gathered there once more.

"Poppy, James told us about the Christmas Incident," Lily interjected seriously, taking Poppy's hands. "Are you alright?"

"Christmas Incident?" Trevor asked, eyes going wide, and Lizzie pulled him aside.

"Poppy," Remus called, and made his way over to her. Lily hung back, letting Poppy scrutinize him - there were two new scars on his left arm, but he shrugged down his sleeve. "I'm fine, Poppy," he murmured, and then she realized he was studying her in return.

"So am I," she replied softly. He nodded, his sharp gaze relaxing.

"Meet me in the tunnel to the Willow tonight," he whispered, and stunned, Poppy quickly agreed, as Trevor gave a cry at the story of the Christmas Incident.

"Poppy, you sure you're ok?" Trevor exclaimed, as Remus moved away. Her three friends gathered close to her.

"Yes, I'm fine. Look, nothing happened, ok? The adults held them off. It wasn't a big deal."

"Wasn't a big deal?" Lizzie exclaimed, grabbing Poppy by the shoulders. "Poppy, Death Eaters went to the Potters' house! That is a very big deal! You could've been killed!"

"But I wasn't. Let's not make mountains out of molehills, my dears. Now, don't you want to see what I got you for Christmas?"

"Presents!" Trevor grinned, and Poppy pulled out small packages from her pockets.

"I wanted to see you open them." Lizzie, Trevor, and Lily accepted the gifts excitedly, and hurried to open them. Each found a small vial of deep red ink.

"It's Royal Cranberry, Ilvermorny's favorite," Poppy chanted in a singsong voice, as if quoting a well known advertisement. With a giggle, she elaborated, "It's ink from the American quill and ink shop, Voges Quills of Distinction. And of course, cranberry is Ilvermorny's favorite."

"Cranberry and blue are their school colors," Lily explained to Trevor's blank look.

"Anyway, I wanted y'all to have something from Ilvermorny to remind you of me, and I thought ink would be most useful to you four. I've got the Marauders something, but they've already gotten their gifts."

"What did you give them?" Lizzie asked, fingering her vial with a smile.

"I made Gordian Knots from some bits of metal. We fasten our robes with gold Gordians, so they've also got something from Ilvermorny too, but it's less hazardous than ink."

"Well, thank you very much, Poppy. I love the color and it's just in time too. I've run out, and McGonagall just assigned us an essay," Trevor replied, giving the girl a hug. "I'll give you your gift later - I left it in my trunk."

"Oh, yes, me too. Should we meet up again after class tomorrow? Exchange gifts?" Lizzie proposed, as she gave Poppy a hug in turn.

"Yes, let's!" agreed Lily, and with this plan in place, they broke apart to return to their dormitories for the evening. But as she left, Remus caught her eye from across the courtyard, and nodded slightly to her.

* * *

"Remus?" called Poppy softly, shivering a bit, though she'd wrapped her quilt around herself.

"Hey, Poppy," he replied, and light from his wand found its way to her. Poppy followed the light around a curve in the tunnel, her own light dancing across the earthen walls, and found him sitting at the base of the Willow's roots. Poppy pulled her quilt to her arm as she sat down and then draped the quilt over them.

"I've never seen this design before. What is it?" Remus asked, stroking the fabric absentmindedly.

"It's the Thunderbird design. That's the logo of my house in America. When I moved in with Aunt Minnie, this was one of the first things I unpacked. My mother made it for me," Poppy answered quietly, after a pause.

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you. Though I can't help but feel that you didn't invite me here just to admire my quilt," Poppy replied easily.

"You're right," Remus answered, turning to face her, the quilt forgotten. "I want to talk about the Christmas Incident."

"Oh… you know, I do have some questions about that. My aunt wasn't exactly chatty about it afterwards."

"Poppy, you know I'd be more than happy to answer your questions, but I… I need to know the truth," he hesitated.

"Oh, of course, how rude of me. Say whatever it is that's on your mind, Remus. We can talk about my questions any old time. Please, have your say." Poppy contritely ducked her head, but kept eye contact with Remus.

"Well, let me backtrack a bit. Your aunt, at the beginning of the school year, asked me to look out for you, to help you adjust. I agreed, and at the feast, you know I waved you over, and all that followed. Well, in those weeks after, you seemed to be adjusting just fine on your own, so I left you to your own devices. I just hung back. But just because I stay out of things doesn't mean I don't observe them."

"Of course," Poppy murmured in encouragement as Remus paused to gather his thoughts.

"So I've seen the way you and Sirius interact. He's a ladies man, always will be a bit of a flirt, to be honest, but he's different around you. But I've also seen you talking with Regulus. And while I don't know what it is you've talked about, I can tell you that you need to be especially careful with the two of them. Theirs is a very complex relationship. Sirius has been through so much pain and bitterness because of his entire family; his abrasiveness and aggression stems from that. And Regulus doesn't help. I think Regulus resents Sirius for leaving, for not even giving him a chance to explain his side of things."

"And yet if Sirius does give his brother a chance, that'll only open him up to more pain," Poppy agreed softly. Remus nodded, his eyes piercing hers.

"I'm not saying Sirius has the right to treat Regulus that way, or vice versa. What I'm saying is, you'd hurt Sirius far more by seeing his brother than by just not even acknowledging either of the Black boys. Especially after the Christmas Incident. Poppy, Sirius put himself in front of you. Granted, us Marauders would not hesitate to protect each other with our lives, but his first thought wasn't of us - it was you. You can't just ignore that."

"Remus-"

"I'm almost done, Poppy, and then I'll hear you out, I promise. But you have to understand, and I'm not sure that you do. No fault of your own, and no judgement from me, but you're from America. The way your wizarding community interacts with your non-magical one is completely and utterly different from ours. You're not just on the edge of a coin, Poppy. You're on the edge of a sword, and whichever way you fall, you will feel the full weight of the other side fall on your head without so much as a by your leave. So much more is riding on you than just picking which of the Black boys you like better. In many ways, the Black family is the bane of many existences."

For a long moment, Poppy absorbed this information, not breaking eye contact with Remus. Finally she looked down at her hands on top of her precious quilt.

"Mine especially."

"How do you mean?" Remus asked gently, when she didn't elaborate.

"Many years ago, centuries now," Poppy began, the way one begins an oft-told tale, "Isolt Sayre fled England, fled her aunt's tyranny, fled the bloodshed and tears and despair of the old world in search of hope and peace and freedom in the New World. Her aunt followed her there, though, but with the help of some new friends and creatures, Isolt managed to save her new family and end her aunt's life. And with the birth of her daughter, Isolt's line in America was established. Thus began Ilvermorny, and my family." Poppy's gaze grew unfocused. "My family… a line of _his_ family."

"Whose?" whispered Remus in the deathly quiet of the darkened tunnel.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"How is that possible?" Remus asked sharply, craning his head to see into her face.

"Isolt's mother was Rionach Gaunt, and her aunt was Gormlaith Gaunt. The sisters were the last of the Irish branch of the Gaunt family, distant relatives to one Mr. Riddle. So, yes, Remus. The Black family in many ways is the bane of my existence, especially since I've heard _he _tends to favor that family."

"Poppy…"

"No, Remus, I'm not finished yet either. You wanted it all, darling, well, here it is. I'm dying." Remus recoiled. Poppy continued, unhurried and unfazed and blunt, but not unkind. "Isolt's power comes at a cost. It's my life. Well, ok, that's a bit dramatic, sure, but you get the gist. All the women of my line from Isolt to me have or had this curse." Poppy let Remus absorb this information.

"Sirius knows, doesn't he?"

"Yes, that's another reason why he was so eager to protect me at Christmas."

"And Regulus too?"

"Yes," Poppy answered, surprised. "I've only told Regulus and my aunt, so I've no idea how the hell Sirius found out. I mean to ask him about it soon. Course, now you know."

"And… this curse. It causes you pain? That's how you were able to defeat Sirius in the duel, you have great ability, but you left so quickly, and you were sick before then, the curse drains you?"

"Yes. I must admit, I'm impressed with your keen observation," Poppy laughed. She yawned suddenly, and glanced at her watch. "Remus, as delightful as this has been…"

"Oh, yes, you need to get some rest."

"What about you?" Remus chuckled humorlessly at her concern.

"Don't worry about me. Be careful going back."

"Going back where?" A new voice asked, and Poppy and Remus jumped, wands out. They scrambled to their feet to see Sirius step into the light.

"Going back to the dorm," Poppy answered, shoulders sagging in relief as she bent to pick up her quilt. Throwing a glance at Remus, she muttered goodnight to him before heading for the exit.

"I'll go with you," Sirius called after her, but exchanged whispers with Remus before jogging to catch up with her. "You shouldn't walk back alone."

"And you should have told me how you knew about my secret!" Poppy shot back, picking up her pace. The effect of being weary, emotionally and physically, settled into her bones and seemed to drag her down. She had no patience for Sirius and his shenanigans and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for a million years. "Don't treat me like I'm a china doll, Sirius. And however you found out about my curse, I can only imagine it was because you listened to a conversation that was never meant for your ears. Do you know how great a breach of trust that is? Especially for me? And you, of all people, should know better!"

"How's that?" he retorted, grabbing her elbow through the quilt and jerking her to a stop. "Is it because I'm a Black?" Had she and Remus not just been talking about that very thing, Poppy would've written it off. As it was, it only fueled her ire.

"Have you been listening to more conversations?" she accused. "For heaven's sake, can you keep your damn nose out of other people's business for more than 2 seconds?"

"So it is because I'm a Black? Or is it because I'm the wrong Black? I'm not like everyone else in my family - is that why you thought Regulus worthy to know your secret, and not me?"

"Maybe it was because he never felt the need to tell me how to live my life! Maybe he accepted what I had to say and moved on? He doesn't mother hen me, and neither does Remus!"

"Oh, so you've told Remus?"

"Well, I didn't have to tell you! You took that opportunity away from me at Christmas!"

"Are you saying I should've just let you kill yourself in the process?"

"No, I'm saying just leave me alone! I never asked for your help, and you took away my chance to choose to ask for your help!" With that, Poppy broke away and ran back to her room, leaving Sirius alone in the dark tunnel to wonder slack-jawed at her.

* * *

**AN: In all honesty, this was also a bit of a doozy to write. In my head, it's a bit of a transition chapter, but it's characterization and development that needs to happen. Also, here's a bit of Remus for my followers who have been asking for a little more love his way. I hope this satisfies for now, and know that there will be more Remus, Sirius, and Regulus in the near future! And for those of you now torn between Regulus and Sirius pairing up with our girl, know that it was unexpected for me as it was for you! Poppy has really taken control of this story and I'm just along for the ride at this point. I'm not a fan of love triangles, so we'll see how this pans out. I think Sirius is too harsh in his judgement and treatment of Regulus, so Poppy was only going to just be kind and friendly, but that seems to be turning into something else very quickly! **

**We're going to be picking up the pace time-wise, since I've got a lot more plans for their 7th year... a big year for the Marauders! But don't worry - I'm not going to go too fast. We'll revisit the Christmas Incident next chapter as well, since Poppy's questions didn't make it into this one. For now, just know that yes, I kind of rushed through the whole affair, but remember, it's through Poppy's POV, and she doesn't exactly know how the politics of the Wizarding War work. Rest assured we'll come back to it.**

**As always, thank you to Ginny Potter, Watermist of Windclan, and the8horcrux for reviewing and keeping up with the story! And Mr. Meowington, welcome and thank you for your review! It makes my day and inspires me to write, so please please please let me know your thoughts!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Poppy? Do you want to talk about it?" Lily's gentle tone completely undid Poppy's grip on her emotions. The American girl broke down and sobbed, not even making it to their room. Fortunately, the late hour meant no one was sitting in the Common Room besides Lily, and Lily quickly wrapped her arms around Poppy. They remained like that until Poppy's tears dried to sniffles, and Lily offered a handkerchief.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" Poppy took a moment to mop her face and blow her nose before answering.

"It's Sirius. Hell, it's _both_ of the Black boys. Oh, Lily, I just don't know what to do!"

"Tell me about it, dear. I can help, and you'll feel better getting it off your chest." Poppy sighed, gathering her thoughts and her courage.

"I thought it was this great adventure. Moving to England, with my Aunt Minnie, attending Hogwarts! I was going to be the sole American in Hogwarts! Then I get here, and I find there's a Dark Lord and prejudices older than Hogwarts about purebloodness and a war that has nothing to do with me. But I think it's okay, that I'm okay, I've got you and Lizzie and Trevor and the boys, and we're safe here at Hogwarts. Then I met Regulus, and we were getting along, and he was the first person to see past the facade _and actually ask about it._ So of course I answered him, because I trust him, and he trusts me, and it's lovely, but the Black boys can't stand each other, and so I'm once more caught in the middle of a war that's not my own." As Poppy spoke, her words spilled out faster and faster. She paused to take a breath and try to regain some control over herself. "Then Christmas. The Potters were so kind, and I was looking forward to actually going somewhere and see the boys for Christmas, but even that's ruined! I didn't even know Death Eaters were a thing until that day! I don't even know why they came to the Potters', of all places, on Christmas!"

"Like as not, they know the Potters are very kind toward Muggles and Muggle-borns," Lily answered Poppy softly as Poppy looked to her in question. "Maybe they'd also heard your aunt was going to be there. Maybe they thought to just cause mischief on Christmas, keep people in fear of what they can do. Maybe they were hoping to get to you lot, to blackmail the adults. Any way you look at it, it all comes down to fear. Fear of the Dark Lord. This sort of divide is exactly what he wants - tearing families apart, turning friends against each other, casting doubt on what really matters. All we can do is keep strong and trust ourselves - and each other."

"And my problem with the Blacks?"

"Poppy…" Lily hesitated. "You and I both know it's one Black boy that's your problem."

"Sirius," Poppy whispered, looking at her hands, twisting them in her lap.

"Why are you so hard on him, Poppy? What's happened with you two? You were pretty chummy at Hogsmeade this fall. What changed at Christmas?"

A long pause followed Lily's questions.

"He jumped in front of me," Poppy said finally in a small voice.

"You mean when the Death Eaters came? He protected you?"

"Yes. Oh, Lily! I'm so afraid."

"Afraid of what, dear?" After another pregnant moment of silence, Lily continued gently. "Better out than in."

"Afraid that this isn't just a crush. I'm afraid that Sirius actually really likes me. Afraid that I really truly like him back. And I'm afraid of this war! What does this mean for me? For my aunt? For any of the ones I love?"

"Poppy, love, you can't live your life in fear. You'll miss out on actually living it."

"But Lily, it's so much more than that. I-" Poppy hesitated, debating. So many people already knew her secret. But if somehow, the Dark Lord were to find out about her weakness, he could use it against them, and Poppy was already so emotionally drained, she didn't know if she could handle another sort of fall out that would stem from her telling Lily at this moment in time. So reluctantly, she bit her lip and decided against telling Lily, for now. _I'll tell her later. She'll understand._ "I just- I don't know what I'm supposed to do. How can I live, when y'all, my dearest friends, can't? Lily, I just- I-" Poppy sunk in on herself, struggling to sort out her emotions and find the right words. "Sirius, he- he's… y'all all mean so much to me, but he… somehow his opinion of me matters more. His criticism hurts more. The way he treats others bothers me more, especially his own brother. I feel his pain more. And that, the fact that he's mattering so much, scares me."

Poppy could see the wheels turning in Lily's mind as the girl sat back, chewing on her lip.

"You're scared to face this," Lily began to think out loud, and Poppy listened, perfectly still, but dropping her eyes to her hands in her lap once more. "You're scared to face whatever truth this is. You're scared that this is the start of something bigger than you. You're scared to get too close, too involved, because you're scared of what it means for you. Picking a Black boy is picking a side in this war, and you're scared of the consequences of either choice."

"That's exactly it," Poppy whispered, and finally met Lily's eyes. "I know neither of them are perfect, in fact far from it, but I'm flawed too."

"You kept all this bottled up, for the entire fall," Lily continued in agreement. "But the Christmas Incident forced you to face it. And now you can't hide from it anymore. You love Sirius, don't you?"

Poppy could only gaze at Lily as tears filled her eyes. Emotions flitted across her face - fear, love, pain, sorrow.

"But I- that is, he- Lily, he can be such a _bully_."

"You once told me that everyone deserves a second chance. 'He just needs to grow up some,' remember? 'He just wants a chance to prove himself.' Poppy, love is what changes us, what helps us grow. If no one loves us enough to help us, how can we become any better than what we are? Love shows you their potential, and helps you show them what you see." Poppy dashed the tears from her eyes as she swallowed hard, absorbing the wisdom of her friend.

"And Regulus? What do you think he is to me, then?" Poppy asked, in a raspy voice dry from crying and no water. Lily cocked her head slightly, thinking once more.

"I think he's a good friend to you. I think he may actually love you, but Poppy, he'd treat you like a delicate flower to be protected. Which, every now and then, everyone needs. We all need a moment to be taken care of, cherished. But ultimately, I think you'd feel smothered by him. I think the two of you are better off friends. Besides, I think you're drawn to him because of Sirius. If you can understand how his family functions, you can understand how Sirius functions and why. But, Poppy," Lily said, taking the other girl's hands and looking her straight in the eye. "It doesn't matter what I think. It's time for you to admit the truth to yourself. Quit running and hiding. You've had all fall for that, and now you've got to answer yourself. What do _you _think about the Black boys?"

* * *

"There you are. I've been trying to find you and talk to you all week!" Poppy said, smiling down at the boy stretched out in the snow by the lake. "Aren't you cold, lying there in the snow?" He turned away from her, gazing out across the ice, and made no move as she carefully sat down beside him. "I'm so glad it's Saturday. The first week back is always hard for me, trying to get back into the swing of things. But I wish you hadn't avoided me. I would've liked to talk about things," continued Poppy cheerfully, as she watched him closely. Inwardly, she groaned in frustration. This silent treatment was getting them nowhere. "Alright, mister, you asked for it." She scooped up a handful of snow and dumped it on his face. Spluttering, he finally faced her as she tossed another handful at him. With a growl, he wrestled her arms away and pinned her down, so she was laying on the snow, and he was half on top of her.

"What do you mean by doing this?" he demanded, both of them huffing from the exertion and the cold.

"Don't you know? I'm trying to tell you I love you, Sirius."

* * *

**AN: *gasp* At last, Poppy reveals herself. Were you shocked? Surprised? Disappointed? Don't worry, my lovelies, this story isn't over yet. We've still got lots of ground to cover, but please let me know what you think! You know what they say, a review a day makes the updates come sooner.**


	14. Chapter 14

"My goodness, what grim faces! Has someone stolen your next big plan for mischief?" Poppy laughed as she sat beside Sirius. Breakfast in the Great Hall was just beginning, but her friends' dark looks were not the only ones Poppy saw. "Sirius? What's wrong?" Sirius kissed her cheek and handed her a plate of food, which she rewarded with a grin and a hug.

"Get a room," James joked half-heartedly. Poppy frowned. Peter was quiet as he ate, Remus was picking at his food, James was swirling his drink, and Sirius didn't even have food in front of him.

"Right, someone better start talking or heads'll start rolling," she teased, but seriously.

"There was another Death Eater attack," Sirius finally replied. She glanced around at their faces.

"Ok, maybe I'm noticing things like this more since the Christmas Incident, because I'm more aware now, but how come I don't remember everyone looking so… so defeated? Like, I'm sure attacks happened last semester, but even if I hadn't been listening for 'Death Eaters' I would've noticed the reactions. What's the big deal about this one?"

"Poppy, it's one of the biggest ones yet. Last night, a whole group of Death Eaters, more than just a few, attacked a whole Muggle village, big enough to make the Muggle news. And worse, it's a village that many students have ties to."

"It's a village that many students are from, or have relatives from. It's been known to produce Muggle-born witches and wizards, basically, and some of them retire back there at the end of their careers," Remus elaborated. "That's why it was targeted. And it was almost decimated. The few witches and wizards who were there held their own as long as possible, but…"

"Their bodies were found this morning, farther from the village. It wasn't pretty," Peter added, shuddering.

"They never really stood a chance," James finished, and the somber mood sank deep into Poppy's bones.

"I see," Poppy murmured, looking down at her plate. Sirius laced his fingers with hers.

"Eat something," he urged. "You'll want it later."

"I'm not hungry anymore. Besides, did you eat?"

"Yeah, I had a pumpkin pasty." The group stood to leave the Great Hall for their classes, following the others out. Sirius snagged her elbow before they parted ways, slinging her into an alcove. "Meet me by the lake after class?"

"Alright. And Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get into trouble without me," Poppy grinned, pecked his cheek quickly, and dashed to class.

* * *

Her classes passed fairly quickly, despite the tension in the air from the news buzzing through Hogwarts. Arithmancy was uncomfortable enough, with Regulus's piercing gaze. Poppy resolved to tell him, as soon as class ended, what side she'd picked, but she couldn't meet his eyes. Would he be disappointed in her? No one should ever be biased against, for any reason. Sirius, and all that picking him included, meant that she was standing with No-majs, a side it was clear Regulus was not on. But she cared for Regulus - he'd been the first to recognize her pain, and he'd been the first to try to help her. He still clearly wanted to help her. How could she maintain her friendship with him while still dating his brother?

"Miss Hopkirk?" her professor called, quirking a brow. Clearly, Poppy was meant to answer the question. Sliding her eyes sideways to Regulus, he mouthed the question and she answered, determined to put these things from her mind for a while. But Regulus nearly pounced on her the moment class ended.

"Poppy? What's going on with you? Is it the attack that's bothering you?"

"I- well, here. First things first." Poppy dragged Regulus into an empty classroom, away from prying eyes and listening ears. "Regulus, I- I'm dating Sirius. And I am officially siding with the No-majs." Poppy watched him carefully - the news about her dating his brother didn't seem to surprise him, but she caught a glimpse of… regret? Either way, his face fell, but only fractionally as he got a hold of his emotions. As for her second statement, Regulus's jaw clenched - she knew that look.

"Regulus, I want to talk with you about the attack, because it _is_ bothering me, but I've got to get to class, and I promised Sirius I'd meet him after, so promise me that we will come back to this?"

"Of course, Poppy," came the moderated, calm response. Poppy sighed inwardly. This was going to be a bit harder than she thought.

"But - you're not upset with me? For picking Sirius?"

"Poppy, if that's what you want, then who am I to tell you no? You're old enough to know your own mind. But now that it's official, you've automatically made many enemies. Sirius Black is not well liked by members of my house, or my side." Regulus again displayed no emotion, causing Poppy's heart to sink further. Just what kinds of trouble had she gotten herself into? _But_, Poppy thought, _I don't regret this choice_.

"Okay… then I'll see you later?"

"Poppy, did you not hear me? It would be unwise for us to 'see each other later.' You are on the other side."

"But - you're still my friend." As Regulus said nothing more, turning away, Poppy left, glancing back at him, hurt etching her face before she too composed herself.

"And you're still so much more to me," Regulus whispered to the empty room, clenching his fist at his side.

* * *

"Here, I brought you something," Sirius said, as she walked up to him by the lake. "I knew you didn't eat anything at all today." He gave her a large napkin enfolding a muffin and a pasty. "You must be hungry now at least."

"Oh, thank you! Very thoughtful of you. Yeah, I'm starving." Poppy quickly scarfed down the food as Sirius turned back to skipping stones.

"So how were your classes?" Poppy asked after she'd finished. She crumbled up the napkin and shoved it in her pocket.

"Eh, same as always. You?"

"Oh, me too. I told Regulus about us dating, though," Poppy replied, coming up behind him and slipping her arms around his waist.

"Oh? How'd he take it?"

"Honestly, pretty well. But here's the thing. I still want to be friends with him, but this Wizarding War makes that pretty much impossible now."

"Oh, because you've chosen me, you've chosen my side."

"I''d still choose your side anyway. I was just hoping I could escape this mess unscathed. I was afraid of what picking a side meant." Here Poppy broke away from Sirius, standing aside and wrapping her arms around herself. She gazed out across the lake while continuing to speak. "Prejudice makes people do the most heinous things to each other. We witches and wizards - just because we have power, doesn't mean we get to abuse it. It is a gift that must be guarded, protected, cherished, not wielded with force and malice and unforgiving hate. How easily are people swayed to hate! The attack from today further solidifies my choice." As she spoke her thoughts aloud, Sirius dropped his stones and came to her side, wrapping strong arms around her. "I regret nothing, except that it took me so long to actually act. Honestly, the Christmas Incident forced me to make decisions about my side, and choosing to date you forced me to quit hiding those decisions. I should've been brave enough to make them from the get-go."

"Poppy, bravery isn't doing the right thing automatically, every time all the time. I mean, yes, it's doing the right thing, but it's standing up to your fear, and doing the right thing. It takes everyone time to come to these conclusions - some people just have more practice at it and are faster. You are no less brave for being afraid. You are just like everyone else."

"Oh, so I'm just any old girl, then, Mr. Black?" Poppy drawled teasingly, turning to face him.

"Only in regards to being afraid. I'm afraid though that you are much too beautiful and powerful to be _exactly_ like everyone else, darling," Sirius recovered smoothly, causing Poppy to laugh.

"Good save. Now don't you forget that I am the best thing to ever happen to you."

"Believe me, Poppy Hopkirk, I won't," Sirius promised.


	15. Chapter 15

"Remus, what are the chances of you rubbing my shoulders?" Sirius asked plaintively, lounging on the floor by Remus's armchair in the Common Room. James and Lily were working on essays on the couch by him, and Peter was getting butterbeers from the boys' room.

"Honestly? Nil."

"But Remuuuus."

"No. Let me work on my essay. It's bad enough that I can barely remember the basic Arithmancy we need for this, let alone me giving you a massage."

"Lily, have you seen my brush? The girls have no idea, and I can't for the life of me remember where I laid it down," Poppy called as she dashed down the stairs. She glanced around the room as if she might find it.

"You know, you are a very clean and organized girl. And yet, that brush seems to be the bane of your existence. It's a miracle you haven't lost it entirely!" Lily replied instead, laughing at the other girl. Poppy stuck her tongue out in answer.

"I know, but still. Have you seen it?"

"Maybe it's under your bed. Have you tried there?"

"No… hey, Remus, is that Arithmancy? I didn't know you were taking it." Poppy had been leaning on the side of the couch closest to Remus and caught sight of the parchment in his lap.

"I'm not. But in this essay for Flitwick, it's requiring us to recall some basic facts about it."

"Poppy, my darling, my love, what are the chances of you rubbing my shoulders?"

"Chances? Very low, sweetheart, but A for effort. Remus, your math is all wrong. Let me show you what I mean."

"LADS!" Peter shouted, sprinting down the stairs. Everyone blinked at him - Poppy couldn't think of anytime she'd ever seen Peter run. Peter pulled up short at the bottom of the stairs as he caught sight of the girls.

"Well?" Remus probed, raising a brow.

"Um, it's for the lads," Peter bit out, looking from Poppy to Lily. Poppy smirked.

"Come on, Lils, let's let the boys have their 'boy time.'"

"Ugh, did you have to call it that?" But Lily extraciated herself from the papers on the couch, although James looked on in dismay. Poppy looped arms with her and they retreated to their dorm, straining to hear what Peter had to say. However, though she could tell they were excited by the rapid change of voices, she couldn't decipher what they were talking about. They were almost to their room when Sirius called for her. Lily rolled her eyes good naturedly and released Poppy's arm. She leapt down the stairs.

"Sirius?"

"Poppy, your aunt just popped her head into the fire and said she wanted to see you right away."

"She- what?"

"She popped her head into the fire, love. Do keep up."

"Near about scared Wormtail to death," James added, grinning. But his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, yet Poppy couldn't think about that as Sirius shooed her away to her aunt.

* * *

"Poppy, you're sure about this?"

"Yes, Aunt Minnie, I'll be fine. Now we've got a job to do." Poppy's face was set, and her eyes focused. Her aunt nodded to the Order witch beside them before Apparating away. The Order witch, a woman named Marlene, gave her an encouraging smile.

"That's it, love. You'll do fine. Wait for the signal." Marlene left her and Poppy waited, watching the dark house. An Order wizard had tracked some Death Eaters to this place, although they didn't think the villains lived there. It was more like a base of operations, but the Order decided to retaliate by taking it out. Poppy's job was to cause chaos. Smoke, fog, blinding hexes, anything to keep the Death Eaters from seeing the Order wizards as they arrested who they could and destroyed the old country estate.

"To think Aunt Minnie told me about this plan not even thirty minutes ago," Poppy muttered to herself, shivering in the chilly night air. A flare of red magic streaked through the air and into the house, exploding inside. _The signal._

Poppy inhaled, clearing her mind. _Tempestate ventis_ was her goal, she decided. Summoning hurricane force winds would not be easy, but she could handle it. The power of her line would not go to waste at her hands.

"_Nebulus_!" she cried, drawing as much fog to her as she could. "_Tempestate ventis_!" The wind built, pushing the dense fog toward the house and rapidly picking up speed and debris. Poppy focused - shifting the winds to the house, forcing them inside, making the Death Eaters stumble about blindly. One by one, Order witches and wizards made their way to incapacitate them. Some Death Eaters resisted Poppy's magic enough to put up a stand against the Order, and to Poppy's dismay, several were able to overpower the Order and Apparate away. Poppy narrowed her eyes.

"_Globos ignis_!" she yelled, and balls of fire began to rain down. Screams rent the churning air, utter chaos released among the Death Eaters. Poppy stood at the eye of the storm, smoke and fog and fire and debris whirled around her in her hurricane winds. Finally, a blue flare was shot into the sky, and Poppy released her magic. The winds disappeared instantly, dropping everything down, and the fireballs extinguished, leaving sparks floating in the air still moving somewhat from the vicious winds blowing just moments before.

"Poppy?" Poppy started, and whipped around.

"Sirius?! What are you doing here?"

"Order business. What about you?"

"The same. Sirius, you're hurt!" Poppy dashed to his side the moment she saw the blood trickling by his left ear.

"Just a scratch, love. Just like how our duel was merely a scratch of what your powers can do. Poppy, how on earth…?" Sirius trailed away, gazing at her in awe. "You're incredible." Poppy grimaced as she pulled her handkerchief out to press to his cut.

"Incredibly dangerous, you mean. This power is too much. It's what's killing me, Sirius, but I mean to do some good with it before I go. Although, I wish I hadn't used the fireball spell." She let him take the cloth and clasped her hands together tightly.

"Why's that? I think that was my favorite part."

"Well, now the house is burning, and… erm… I don't do well with burning houses." Poppy rubbed her arm, looking down at the ground, instead of at the blazing house. "You know - my parents, and all…"

"Oh, Poppy," Sirius replied sympathetically, at once putting his arm around her and turning her back to the house. She snuggled into his embrace, listening to his heartbeat as she tried to calm her own racing one.

"Poppy, there you are. I- why, Mr. Black!" Poppy's aunt Apparated near them but stopped speaking as soon as she caught sight of who was holding her niece so tightly. She sighed. "We will discuss this in the morning. Mr. Black, please get my niece back to Hogwarts. Are any of the others around?"

"No, ma'am, James was with Moody, and Peter stayed behind with Remus this time. Moon, and all. Come on, Poppy."

"Wait!" Poppy launched herself at her aunt, catching her in a tight hug.

"There, there, dear, it's alright. We won this time, and Merlin knows we've needed a victory after so long. Go on, dear, and get some rest."

Poppy stepped away and let Sirius wrap his arms around her again before Apparating them away to Hogsmeade. They snuck back into Hogwarts, via the Hog's Head tunnel, and up to Gryffindor Tower. Poppy still felt frozen, the sight of the flaming house burned into her retinas, and the magic beginning to take its toll on her.

"Sirius - can I stay with you?" she asked quietly, as he made to send her up to her dorm. He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"The house?" She merely nodded. "Of course you can stay with me, love. Come on then. We've figured out a way to beat the staircase." Sirius levitated them up the stairs to his dorm, where he then led her to his bed. Poppy wanted to look around, but sleep was coming over her in massive waves, and she stumbled. Sirius simply picked her up bridal style and laid her down on the bed. He removed her shoes, and his, before slipping under the covers with her.

"Nothing but sleep tonight, love. Don't get any ideas," he whispered to her, and she managed the energy for a smile before falling into a deep sleep. He cast a Silencing charm on the curtains and held her for a long time before he too, went to sleep. The images of Poppy, with a look of pure focus and concentration as she created such a wild storm that even the Death Eaters they'd captured begged to be spirited away, plagued him. And the winds never wavered, only grew stronger, but never once did they touch her. Her well of magic seemed unending, but he knew her candle would burn out very quickly if they weren't careful. She was a powerful asset to the Order, but she would die very young if she kept this pace. And Sirius wasn't ready to even contemplate something as simple as breaking up with her - this didn't bode well for the long run.

* * *

**AN: please don't forget to review with your thoughts! It definitely helps get chapters out faster, my lovelies. Stay healthy and remember your masks.**


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